Latta, Moolenaar introduce bipartisan bill to ban apps controlled by foreign adversaries

Amid growing concerns over the wide use of popular social media platforms that are controlled by foreign adversaries, U.S. Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH) and John Moolenaar (R-MI) helped introduce a bipartisan bill this week that would ban applications like TikTok unless they sever ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

“TikTok and its ties to Communist China poses a clear and present danger to U.S. national security and is threatening the privacy of millions of Americans,” Rep. Latta said. 

Reps. Latta and Moolenaar joined 18 other lawmakers in introducing the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, H.R. 7521, a bill that prevents app store availability or web hosting services in the United States for apps controlled by Chinese tech giant and TikTok parent ByteDance unless the app severs ties to entities that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary. 

The bipartisan bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and lead cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the ranking member of the committee.

The legislation also allows the president to designate certain social media apps that are controlled by a foreign adversary and pose a national security risk. Those designated apps would face a ban on app store availability and web hosting services in the U.S. unless they divest and sever ties with any entity that is subject to control of a foreign adversary, a summary of the bill said.

“This strong bipartisan legislation is an important step forward in making sure social media apps owned by foreign adversaries are prohibited from doing business in America,” Rep. Moolenaar said. “I encourage all Americans using TikTok to strongly consider the personal risks of having their data owned by the Chinese Communist Party and hope they will stop using the app as this bipartisan legislation moves forward.”

Rep. Latta explained that when TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2023 about how Congress can safeguard American data privacy from online harms, Chew admitted that ByteDance has access to U.S. user data. 

“This alone should serve as a wake-up call and alarm every single American – whether they’re actively engaged on TikTok or not,” Rep. Latta said.

The bill provides ByteDance with a window of time to divest, and the bill’s prohibitions do not apply if it completes a qualified divestment, Rep. Latta’s office said, adding that the legislation does not punish individual users of an impacted app, and does not regulate speech, but is focused entirely on foreign adversary control, as defined by Congress.

“Whether it’s Russia or the CCP, this bill ensures the President has the tools he needs to press dangerous apps to divest and defend Americans’ security and privacy against our adversaries,” Rep. Krishnamoorthi added.