House Goes After TikTok

In what was portrayed as a rebuke to China, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bill to investigate the controversial social media site TikTok over the next three years.

Rep. Buck (R-CO)

The bill, authored by Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado), passed on a voice vote after a lengthy and divisive partisan debate. Buck raised the specter of the alleged Chinese spy balloon recently shot down by military jets after it had crossed over the continental United States, suggesting that the Chinese government was using TikTok to similarly spy on Americans. 

Rep. María Salazar (R-Florida) similarly suggested that TikTok was being used by the Chinese communist government to infiltrate the United States. "It's no secret how I feel about communism," she added. Urging a support for the bill, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) said, "TikTok should be blown out of the sky like the Chinese spy balloon was this week."

Democrats voiced a number of concerns about the bill. Minority Leader Ruben Gallego (Arizona) described the measure as a "virtue signal of a bill" that was "all foam and no beer." Rep. Doris Matsui (D-California) asked why just TikTok was being singled out and not other Chinese-owned social media companies, and raised concerns about the bill's vagueness. Several Democrats wondered if the Defense Intelligence Agency, tasked with running the investigation, was the proper agency for the job. 

Several members of the House International Affairs Committee traded barbs on the floor, blaming each other for a lack of the bipartisan comity that had been on display during the committee hearings over the bill. "I'm fairly disappointed," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska). 

Rep. Matsui (D-CA)

The bill now goes to President Biden's desk. The White House has not indicated whether the President will sign it.