The senior Republican Commissioner on the FCC has spoken out in favor of bipartisan Congressional legislation aimed at fully addressing “the risks” posed by popular social media app TikTok by banning it in the U.S. — unless it “genuinely” divests from its ties to the Communist Party of China.
“TikTok’s own conduct makes clear that it is beholden to the CCP and presents an unacceptable threat to U.S. national security,” says Brendan Carr. “Indeed, TikTok has been caught engaging in a pattern of illicit surveillance and making false statements about personnel in Beijing accessing sensitive U.S. user data. These facts were laid bare for the world to see when the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a TikTok oversight
hearing last year. That is why there is now a broad, bipartisan consensus that TikTok cannot continue to operate in the U.S. in its current form.”
This explains why Carr is cheering the introduction on Tuesday of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” by House Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).
In his view, the act would “definitively resolve the serious threat TikTok poses to America’s national security.”
And, to Carr’s pleasure, soon-to-retire House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has confirmed that her committee will vote on the bill Thursday (3/7).
While Carr can’t cast a vote in Congress, he’s certainly offering his endorsement. “This is a smart, threat-specific bill that would address a clear and present danger,” he concluded. “I hope that this bill will soon become law.”
