TikTok might soon be facing a choice: Divest from its Chinese Communist Party-controlled parent company, or cease to operate in the U.S.
“This is not about the content that is being posted on TikTok,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, says. “It’s about the conduct of the company that controls TikTok, that makes the decisions, that has a narrative that is able to use Chinese Communist Party propaganda through the platform, if they so choose.”
ByteDance is TikTok’s parent company. It’s headquartered in Beijing and subject to Chinese law that requires companies to make data available to the CCP.
The House is set to vote Wednesday on a bill designed to prevent foreign adversary-controlled applications from operating in the U.S. Some are referring to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act at the “TikTok bill,” since it would prevent TikTok from operating in the U.S. if the company does not break from ByteDance.
The bill received bipartisan support in committee and is expected to pass the House.
Pfluger joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why TikTok poses a national security threat to the U.S. and whether he thinks the bill will receive the same bipartisan support in the Senate.
Following the conversation with Pfluger, Jake Denton, research associate in the Tech Policy Center at The Heritage Foundation, joins the show to explain how the app would effectively be banned in the U.S. if the bill does pass and TikTok refuses to divest from its CCP-controlled parent company. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of Heritage.)
Catch both conversations on today’s podcast: