Why are Republicans in favor of empowering Biden to ban TikTok?

There are currently two opposing views on the bill to ban the TikTok platform and other economic activities related to China in the US Congress.

American politicians fear TikTok is an intelligence goldmine for China - Photo: AFP

The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee will vote on the bill on February 28, local time. As of 5:00 p.m. on March 1, Vietnam time (ie, early morning of the same day in US time), there were still no voting results.

The bill, introduced late last week and pushed by House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul, would empower the administration of President Joe Biden to impose a nationwide ban on TikTok under the Economic Powers Act . international emergency (IEEPA).

Republicans want to be strong with TikTok

The bill names TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, and requires President Biden to impose sanctions, including a ban, if it is determined that the Chinese company knowingly transferred TikTok user data to " any foreigner" working for or under the influence of the Beijing government.

The measures also call for sanctions if companies are found to have helped the Chinese Government engage in surveillance, hacking, censorship or intelligence gathering; facilitate election interference in the United States or in another democratic ally; or help the Chinese government influence US policymaking...

According to the New York Times , a group of US congressmen who are pro-China are also pushing bills that would ban China from buying farmland and other agricultural real estate , especially in areas near military sites. sensitivities, export and investment restrictions in China.

The hasty move shows the concern of American politicians that TikTok can be a gold mine of intelligence gathering for China. And after the US shot down a Chinese hot air balloon with accusations of "spying", many Republicans decided to support empowering Democratic President Biden to be aggressive with TikTok.

"TikTok opens the door for China to access Americans' personal information, keystrokes and location through active data collection," said Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley.

Meanwhile, another Florida Republican senator, Marco Rubio, wants Chinese and Russian social media companies operating in the US to be owned by Washington.

The committee is expected to vote on this measure as soon as February 28, local time. However, such a ban would need to be approved by the entire House and Senate before the president could sign it into law.

Voices of protest in the Democratic Party

Late last year, the US Congress banned TikTok on federally regulated phones, and more than half of the states in the country have taken similar measures.

However, banning TikTok across the US is an issue that is not supported by many, including Democrats, while activists consider it unconstitutional.

On February 28, Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, opposed the bill for fear of "destroying many jobs in the United States, as well as infringing on core values. America's core of freedom of speech and freedom of business," according to Reuters news agency.

Overly broad terms like "Chinese influence" can expose Americans to huge legal risk, Meeks said.

"Will an entity be influenced by China if the CEO's sister has moved there or married a Chinese? Will an entity be influenced by China if the CEO frequently travels there for fun?" Mr. Meeks wrote in a letter to Mr. McCaul.

"Republicans would be worried about giving the administration a clear victory, but I'm not sure what kind of legislation they're considering," said Zack Cooper, who studies US-China competition. will do it."

"There's a lot more going to punish China than focusing on investing in the US over the next few years," Cooper said.

Meanwhile, Democratic congressman Mark Warner, chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, said that TikTok is just one of a long line of foreign data companies, such as China's telecommunications giant Huawei and Chinese technology giant Huawei. Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, is being targeted.

"We need a constitutionally sensible approach," argued Mr. Warner.