Murphy Votes to Force TikTok to Divest from China
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Murphy issued the following statement after voting in support of H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act: "TikTok is used by China to target, surveil and manipulate American citizens," said Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D."The app collects sensitive user data that is shared with the Chinese Communist Party and its intelligence services. Under its current ownership, it presents a grave national security threat." "In December of 2022, Congress banned the use of TikTok on government devices. The legislation takes greater action to force ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest the app in 165 days or lose access to America's market. As a free nation, with the most powerful economy in the world, we must take a stand against the current abuse of this powerful platform. I joined more than 350 Representatives in the House in voting in favor of this legislation." Background In 2020, India banned 59 Chinese-created apps, including TikTok, emphasizing their priority to defend India's national security. Lack of transparency from TikTok executives and their unwillingness to protect user privacy and information have also encouraged neighboring governments like the European Union and Canada to prohibit the use of the application on government devices |