NW Houston News

Washington, DC – Today, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Act, a bill aimed at safeguarding Americans' data from foreign adversaries such as China. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, who voted in favor of the bill, emphasized the importance of protecting American citizens from potential threats posed by online applications like TikTok.

"Data is power, and the Chinese are using TikTok to collect information from millions of Americans to use as cultural and psychological warfare against us," said Congressman Crenshaw. "We must recognize China’s Marxist view of war and realize TikTok under the ownership of ByteDance is not an innocuous social media platform, it is a weapon being used by Communist China."

The Act aims to promote U.S. national security by prohibiting marketplaces from hosting applications controlled by foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. It establishes a framework to protect against future applications controlled by foreign adversary covered companies and incentivizes divestment from entities posing national security risks.

The legislation also empowers users and small businesses to switch platforms if an application controlled by a foreign adversary company does not divest. Additionally, the Act ensures that individual users are not targeted for enforcement actions and focuses solely on regulating conduct, not content, to protect First Amendment rights.

The bill, however, faces opposition from some who are spreading inaccuracies about its implications. It does not require a U.S. company to buy TikTok but rather mandates TikTok to divest from ByteDance. It also does not punish individual social media users or violate the First Amendment, as it is focused on foreign adversary control, not content regulation.

Moreover, the legislation does not grant the government broad authorities that could be misused against individuals or American companies, nor does it impact apps that sever ties with foreign adversary-controlled entities.

In summary, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Act aims to safeguard Americans' data from potential threats posed by applications controlled by foreign adversaries, with a specific focus on protecting national security and individual privacy.