Democrats and Republicans have found common cause in an otherwise historically polarized Congress: Combating the threat from communist China, starting with an effort to ban social media giant TikTok from the United States.
Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who chair and co-chair the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reintroduced bipartisan legislation to ban TikTok from operating in the United States on Feb. 17.
The Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act) aims to protect Americans by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from TikTok and other social media companies in, or under the control of, China, Russia, or several other foreign countries of concern.
The move gives a rare bipartisan bite to legislation that might otherwise be pushed aside to the party politics so common to the otherwise divided Congress.
Gallagher said that the move and its bipartisan support was indicative of how serious the threat posed by companies with ties to the CCP was.
“Allowing the app to continue to operate in the U.S. would be like allowing the U.S.S.R. to buy up The New York Times, Washington Post, and major broadcast networks during the Cold War,” Gallagher said in a prepared statement.
“No country with even a passing interest in its own security would allow this to happen, which is why it’s time to ban TikTok and any other CCP-controlled app before it’s too late.”
Likewise, Krishnamoorthi said that adversaries like the CCP were attempting to actively undermine U.S. national security, and that such a threat required bipartisan pushback.
“At a time when the Chinese Communist Party and our other adversaries abroad are seeking any advantage they can find against the United States through espionage and mass surveillance, it is imperative that we do not allow hostile powers to potentially control social media networks that could be easily weaponized against us,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“The bipartisan ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act is a strong step in protecting our nation from the nefarious digital surveillance and influence operations of totalitarian regimes.”
CCP Aggression Earns Rare Bipartisan Rebuke
TikTok’s relationship with the CCP through its China-based parent company, ByteDance, has drawn widespread criticism and concern that the app is being used to actively stalk and feed disinformation to American citizens at the behest of the regime. Indeed, ByteDance employees were found to have illicitly used TikTok data to surveil American journalists critical of the regime, and TikTok executives have admitted to previously censoring stories about China’s human rights abuses at the regime’s request.
That threat, seemingly exacerbated by the invasion of U.S. territory by a Chinese spy balloon, has earned a significant bipartisan movement against the CCP and its malign activities.
Much like Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Angus King (I-Maine) also came together to combat the threat, re-introducing the Senate companion to the ANTI-SOCIAL CCP legislation last week.
“TikTok allows the Chinese Communist Party to access people’s private data,” Rubio said in a prepared statement. “This is a direct threat not only to our national security interests but also to the American people.
“Make no mistake, every ‘private’ enterprise in China has direct ties and on-demand information-sharing requirements with the national government,” King said. “The Chinese Communist Party’s potential to access TikTok user data and exploit American’s private information is an unacceptable national security risk.
“The company must either divest from dangerous foreign ownership, or we will take the necessary steps to protect Americans from potential foreign spying and misinformation operations.”
Beyond TikTok, the move is indicative of a broader bipartisan impulse to push back on an increasingly belligerent CCP, perhaps captured best by the close working relationship of Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi as they lead the Select Committee on the CCP.
Gallagher previously expressed that he was “thrilled” to work side-by-side with such dedicated Democrats, and underscored that the ability of the committee to transcend partisan talking points and strike back against the CCP was central to the committee’s mission.
“Rep. Krishnamoorthi and I have a shared understanding of the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and a long history of working together across the aisle on a range of issues — from protecting Americans from the threat posed by CCP controlled apps like TikTok and co-chairing the Middle-Class Jobs Caucus to introducing bipartisan infrastructure bills,” Gallagher said.
“As the leaders of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, we will continue to work in bipartisan fashion to protect America from the ideological, economic, and military threat posed by the CCP, while always distinguishing between the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people, who are their primary victims.”
“What the Chinese Communist Party fears most is Democrats and Republicans working together to combat their malign influence and defend our nation.”
