On the recordMarch 13, 2024
Mr. Speaker, the CEO of TikTok appeared before the Energy and Commerce Committee and admitted to me during questioning that ByteDance has access to U.S. user data. This should be an alarm to every TikTok user. There is no reason why the Chinese Communist Party should be in control of an app that can access information on a user's phone. Moreover, because companies who are owned or linked to the Chinese Communist Party are forced to comply with their laws, ByteDance and its employees are taking orders from this Communist regime. This is not a ban, but it provides Communist China-controlled ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, a choice. If ByteDance divests their ownership of TikTok, then TikTok would be available to its U.S. users. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.
