Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I will vote in opposition to H.R. 7521, the so-called ``Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.'' This bill would force the sale of the social media application TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China.

Let me be clear: I share the national security concerns of many that the Chinese government is collecting Americans' personal data via TikTok. However, I believe H.R. 7521 is an inadequate proposal that unconstitutionally singles out a specific company, setting a dangerous precedent. Additionally, by restricting access to a social media application, I believe this bill threatens Americans' constitutional rights to free speech, expression and a free press.

I also believe the bill's provisions to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok within 180 days are unrealistic. In reality, a sale of this magnitude could trigger an antitrust acquisition review in the United States--a process that could take up to a year or longer. During this period, TikTok users in the U.S. could lose access to the app.

This bill also ignores the fact that the Chinese government and other public and private entities around the world--including the U.S. government--are still able to purchase Americans' private information from third-party brokers. That's why I support comprehensive privacy reforms to protect Americans' constitutional right to privacy and close the data broker loophole.

The United States has rightfully criticized other countries for infringing on the rights of their own citizens by restricting free speech and censoring access to the internet. However, H.R. 7521's restriction of Americans' free speech and singling out of one company makes us no better than our adversaries, and it invites reciprocal attacks from other countries on U.S.-based companies.

We must not forget that the U.S. government also engages in what I strongly believe to be unconstitutional surveillance and collection of Americans' personal data and communications. If TikTok were sold to a U.S.-based company, I'm not convinced that American users' private data would be secure.

Instead of rushing a vote on a bill that was written behind closed doors without proper debate, Congress should pass comprehensive data privacy and security reform legislation that protects Americans from unconstitutional data collection by all companies, governments, and digital applications--not just one.

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