Members of the MRC-led Free Speech Alliance are urging the Senate to follow the House of Representatives' lead and vote on a bill forcing TikTok to divest itself from its communist Chinese government ties, or risk being banned from the U.S.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate RepublicanLeader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), members of the Free Speech Alliance praised the House for passing The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act and encouraged the Senate to follow suit. “We are pleased that the House has taken action and passed H.R. 7521 to protect the national security interests of Americans,” the letter reads, later adding, “We write to urge you to schedule a floor vote on the companion bill as soon as possible.”
The alliance began by noting that the bill “would prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States unless the Chinese Communist Party is divested of control.” The letter also highlighted the significance of this ultimatum. “Not only does the bill prevent the Chinese from operating surreptitiously in America, it still gives Americans the opportunity to use TikTok in the future in a manner where our privacy is protected and our sensitive data is shielded,” the alliance wrote.
Twenty-seven free speech advocates signed the letter to the U.S. Senate leadership. Included among the signees are the Media Research Center President Brent Bozell, Young America’s Foundation President Governor Scott Walker, Conservative Partnership Institute Chairman Sen. Jim DeMint, and American Principles Project President Terry Schilling.
Bozell explained his support for the bill. “It is absolutely correct and necessary for TikTok to divest itself of any control from the communist Chinese government in China if it wants to do business in the United States,” Bozell said. “I support this bill. I support reining in TikTok. I support stopping the communist Chinese from influencing the United States subversively.”
The House passed H.R. 7521 in a bipartisan landslide Wednesday with 352 representatives voting in favor and 65 opposed. The bill will now go to the Senate, where it must pass before having a chance of becoming law. Biden pledged to sign the bill if both houses of Congress pass it, despite his avid use of TikTok for his re-election campaign. Despite banning over 4 million federal employees from using the app on federal devices, Biden has now posted 71 TikTok videos to date.
You can read the letter below:
