Strong Statement on Curtailing CCP Surveillance on American Citizens 

WASHINGTON — Congressman Dale W. Strong released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act: 

“The United States has a long history of preventing hostile foreign interest from investing in or setting a national narrative in our country. In China, the app shows educational and patriotic videos that promote social cohesion, yet in the United States, it promotes content to polarize and divide our nation. 

We cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to set an anti-American narrative in the United States. Every American should be concerned about a foreign media company who pushed propaganda videos from Osama bin Laden to tens of millions of young Americans, or who promotes an anti-Israel message following the brutal terrorist attack on October 7th. 

Our constitution prevents the federal government from having the power to censor speech or surveil American citizens. This bill is not about censorship. It allows TikTok to continue its operations but says that it must do so under a different owner.  

The Chinese Communist Party uses TikTok to place left-wing, anti-American propaganda on the phones of hundreds of millions of Americans. Simply put, this is about national security and the safety of the American people.” 

BACKGROUND: 

Contrary to statements from CCP-controlled companies, such as ByteDance, this bill does not outright ban any application. Instead, it offers foreign adversary-owned apps the opportunity to fully divest from its foreign adversary ownership, in which case the application will be free to continue to operate in the United States. 

The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) details the CCP’s attempts to exert influence on U.S. elections using TikTok, targeting candidates of both political parties critical of China during the 2022 elections. ODNI’s report confirms that Beijing and other adversaries are taking advantage of applications to expand their influence across the globe, even in the United States.