The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced two important data privacy bills to the House floor Thursday. One would force TikTok to be severed from Chinese ownership or removed from U.S. app stores, and the other would prevent it from being sold or transferred by data brokers. Data of Americans against foreign enemies.
The second bill also gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to impose civil penalties of more than $50,000 each time a company violates the ban.
Civil liberties groups denounced the TikTok bill's price increases, saying they threaten free speech. Meanwhile, while privacy advocates welcomed the progress of the data broker bill, the comprehensive federal data privacy law covering the handling of Americans' personal data by data brokers has remained largely in place since it was first passed in committee. He lamented that even after two years, he was still stagnant.
The bill targeting TikTok is the latest in a series of attempts by Congress to block the app, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China. Congress and national security leaders have long worried about how the app siphons data from Americans and spreads disinformation, calling it a tool of the Chinese Communist Party.
On Thursday, the app sent a push notification to users warning that “TikTok is at risk of being shut down in the United States,” as it became clear that Congressional support for a de facto ban on TikTok was gaining momentum. I urged them to contact their representatives. as soon as possible.
Asked for comment on the bill, a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the bill “has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the United States.”
“The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression,” the statement added. “This will harm millions of businesses, deny audiences to artists, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”
“National Security Threat”
Congressional leaders unanimously passed the increases in both bills after hearing private testimony from intelligence community leaders.
After meeting with intelligence officials in the minutes before voting to advance the bill, several members sounded the alarm about TikTok.
TikTok “represents a clear national security threat to the United States, and it requires decisive action that we take today,” said Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) just before the committee vote. .
“We gave TikTok a clear choice: continue operating in the United States by separating from its parent company, which is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or stand with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and face a ban. ” she added. .
According to the bill's text, TikTok has 180 days to withdraw from ByteDance.
McMorris Rogers said TikTok's push notifications are “part of how the Chinese Communist Party is weaponizing the applications it controls to manipulate tens of millions of people to further its own agenda.” It's not too much,” he said.
McMorris-Rogers said the bill does not open the door for the government to interfere with apps without a legitimate reason. He said the ban would require national security agencies and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to agree that an application controlled by a foreign adversary poses a threat to national security. Such bans can only be issued against apps controlled by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, she said.
Focus on data brokers that provide data to adversaries
The bill targeting data brokers also focuses on the national security threats posed by these four countries.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D.N.J.), the committee's top Democrat, said the bill, which focuses on regulating data brokers' dealings with foreign adversaries, would be “unlikely to be controlled by TikTok or other foreign adversaries.” “This is an important and necessary bill, even if the applications that do so no longer work in the country.” The United States and foreign adversaries will continue to be able to purchase vast amounts of data about Americans through other means. ”
The bill comes a week after the Biden administration issued an executive order restricting data brokers and other companies from transferring large amounts of data about Americans to hostile countries, including China.
Privacy experts said the bill is an important step forward, but warned that it is not enough.
“There is an urgent need to rein in data brokers who are profiting from the sale of our most sensitive data and putting Americans at risk,” Alan Butler, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said in a statement. There is,” he said. .
But Butler said Congress needs to move forward with a larger, more comprehensive data privacy bill that remains in committee indefinitely.
“It's time for Congress to enact comprehensive privacy protections, including strong data minimization standards, and provide strong enforcement to protect civil rights online and deter harmful commercial surveillance practices,” Butler said. It's long past.”
Brandon Pugh, policy director at the R Street Institute, echoed Butler's concerns.
“There are a variety of ways this data can be used against American persons, posing a national security risk, including when it is used to track and identify members of the military and intelligence agencies,” Pew said. said in an email.
He added: “The fundamental solution remains passing comprehensive data privacy and security legislation that protects consumer privacy and strengthens national security.” This ensures that your data is protected regardless of country or company. ”