Rep. Cleaver’s Statement on the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act

"There have been some powerful misconceptions about the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, and I want to be clear that this legislation is not an attempt to ban TikTok. Rather, it would give ByteDance the option to divest from TikTok and sell the platform to a company not headquartered in China, enabling the application to remain available to Americans across the country, while protecting their privacy and ensuring China cannot use it to undermine our democratic institutions.

"Chinese national security laws require any company doing business in China to make its data accessible to the PRC government. While I have no problem with TikTok, and I respect those who have legitimate objections to this legislation, I have a problem with the Chinese Community Party using the platform as a tool to spy on Americans, control an extremely powerful media apparatus, and influence our society and the minds of young Americans to the benefit of the CCP.

"Should this bill become law, it is my hope that ByteDance will do the right thing for the platform and the millions of users who enjoy its services. Should they choose to remain a tool of the CCP instead, it will reveal why this legislation was so important."

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