The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party will introduce legislation to ban TikTok and other Chinese-owned social media apps amid renewed national security concerns. Sponsored by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the legislation attempts to circumvent the free speech objections cited by the federal courts. Instead, it focuses on the regulation of corporate ownership by countries deemed to be hostile to the United States — including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
In addition to banning apps controlled by foreign adversaries, the legislation would grant the president the power to deem foreign-owned social media apps as being of ‘concern’ and offer incentives for the corporate ownership to divest themselves from US-based operations.
The legislation marks the latest effort to ban Chinese-controlled social media platforms in the United States. A federal court stayed an executive order enacted by then-President Donald Trump banning TikTok and WeChat. President Joe Biden resumed executive branch efforts to ban the app but dropped the matter after facing similar court opposition.
TIKTOK LOBBYING CAPITOL HILL
The National Pulse reported that efforts to either ban the use of TikTok — or force its Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest from US operations — have been met with fierce resistance. In 2023, ByteDance engaged in a massive $7.4 million lobbying effort on Capitol Hill — and in state capitals across the US — to dissuade lawmakers from taking action against TikTok.
On the political right, the conservative Club for Growth policy group has worked against legislative efforts to regulate or ban TikTok. The Club for Growth — which maintains a powerful lobbying presence on Capitol Hill — receives a bulk of hits funding from American billionaire Jeff Yass. A $21 billion investment in TikTok accounts for most of Yass’s $28 billion net worth.
CFIUS COULD STILL BAN TIKTOK
Even if the new legislative effort is unsuccessful, one additional avenue remains that could result in TikTok’s ban in the US. A case initiated under former President Donald Trump remains pending before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – who chairs the committee – does not appear inclined to push it forward soon.
