Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today voted in favor of H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would ensure the safety of Americans' data and the national security of the United States from threats posed by foreign adversary-controlled applications such as TikTok.
This bill, which Tenney cosponsored, passed the House by a vote of 352-65, with one present vote.
Over the last two weeks, the Chinese Communist Party has worked aggressively to spread misinformation about this bill. This bill does not apply to U.S.-owned companies, so the risk of weaponization of this legislation against U.S. social media companies, such as X, Truth Social, or Rumble, is not applicable.
The enforcement powers are limited to applications owned by China, Iran, Russia, or North Korea. This bill also does not mention "election interference," which some pro-TikTok advocates have claimed will be weaponized against conservatives. H.R. 7521 would merely require applications controlled by China, Iran, Russia, or North Korea to either divest ownership of the foreign adversary or face a prohibition from operating in the United States.
"Congress has heard consistently from the intelligence community about the serious threats posed by TikTok to our national security," said Congresswoman Tenney. "With over 170 million users, TikTok is the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda megaphone, using the App to manipulate and exploit users' data for its own surveillance and monetary gains. Congress took a decisive and critical measure prohibiting the Chinese Communist Party from controlling the TikTok application. I remain dedicated to cracking down on the CCP's malign influence and working to ensure that our adversaries do not have access to sensitive data held by individuals and businesses who use the App."
