Critics quick to knock TikTok ban proposal
Jessica Melugin
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The social media app TikTok would be banned in the United States under House and Senate legislation recently introduced, proposals that have provoked lively responses from critics and made for strange bedfellows in Washington policy circles.
TikTok, a short-form video-sharing app used by more than 100 million Americans, is under fire from many in the national security community. TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, is subject to that country’s law obligating companies and people to comply with government requests for data, even if they occur in secret.
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Many U.S. lawmakers worry that the public’s personal information, like their locations or online identities, could end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. They are also worried about data flowing in the opposite direction: that the Chinese government can and does influence what U.S. users are shown on the TikTok app.
These concerns have been ramping up not just in Washington but around the globe. The Biden administration banned the app from government-issued devices earlier this year. Britain, the European Union, Canada, and others have recently done the same. The House of Representatives has already moved a proposal forward that would give the president the power to ban TikTok outright.
Last month, the company’s CEO, Shou Chew, endured a nearly five-hour televised hearing from members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
But the latest effort to ban the country’s most popular app created blowback from far-flung corners of the political world, including the progressive Left and the nationalist Right.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, introduced a bill that would grant the secretary of commerce the authority to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate or otherwise mitigate … any risk arising from any covered transaction by any person” deemed to pose “an undue or unacceptable risk.” Areas where risk might be detected include online communications, federal elections, infrastructure, or activities by foreign powers intended to undermine democratic processes or institutions or influence policy outcomes.
The scope of Warner’s Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology, or RESTRICT, Act drew opposition from both sides of the political aisle.
Outspoken progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) used the TikTok platform itself to make a video opposing the legislation. In it, she argues that data privacy must also be addressed domestically, that banning a social media platform is unprecedented in the U.S., and that Congress should receive a classified briefing detailing the national security risks before any action is taken. The New York Democrat’s video was viewed 2.2 million times in its first 15 hours.
Fox News’s populist prime-time cable host, Tucker Carlson, also spoke out against the bill. Carlson acknowledged concerns with TikTok and China but cautioned, “This bill would give enormous and terrifying new powers to the federal government to punish American citizens and regulate how they communicate with one another.” Carlson went on to express concerns about the bill’s broad deference to the unelected secretary of commerce in defining terms that might trigger mitigation measures, including “throwing American citizens in prison for 20 years.”
Perhaps less surprisingly, libertarians came out swinging against the proposal too. Writing in Reason magazine, J.D. Tuccille raised concerns that the bill could be interpreted to make virtual private networks, a common tool used to protect one’s identity and information online, illegal. He also highlighted concerns about degrading encryption protections, restricting access to cryptocurrency, and expanding the list of “foreign advisories” beyond the bill’s current list of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
A spokeswoman for Warner didn’t weigh in on the specific critics of the bill but suggested the odd coalition might be a good sign.
“Sen. Warner doesn’t mind when he’s being attacked by both the far Left and the far Right,” Warner’s communications director, Rachel Cohen, said in an email to the Washington Examiner.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has a similar, if more narrowly focused, proposal for banning TikTok. But when Hawley recently attempted to move the bill forward by unanimous consent, fellow GOP Sen. Rand Paul (KY) thwarted the effort.
With opposition to the Warner bill coming from both the political Left and Right, it’s unclear if it will obtain the bipartisan support needed to become law or which changes could be made to appease both sides. But the debate will no doubt continue as America’s TikTok tic shows no signs of abating.
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“We’re of course open to taking a look at any additions that could provide further, if redundant, reassurances so that we can get this bill passed into law,” Cohen said.
The Senate reconvenes later this month.