Sherrill Co-Leads Bipartisan Legislation that Cracks Down on the Chinese Communist Party’s Coercive Influence in the U.S.

Bill Would Require a Forced Sale of Any Foreign Adversary Controlled Application, Including TikTok, in Order to Maintain Its U.S. App Store Availability

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) helped introduce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which will strengthen U.S. national security and protect Americans on social media apps.

The legislation, drafted after reports that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using TikTok to shape public opinion in the U.S. regarding key issues such as Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Middle East, creates a framework for prohibiting the distribution or maintenance of any application controlled by a foreign adversary, including the CCP, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Rep. Sherrill is co-leading the bill alongside members of the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and CCP, including Chairman Mike Gallagher and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi.

“All Americans deserve access to information and media platforms that are free from the influence of hostile foreign actors like the Chinese Communist Party. But here are the facts: TikTok has been used by the CCP to silence free speech and dissent in the United States and abroad, to undermine democracy and our values, and to promote propaganda that is favorable to autocratic rulers like President Xi. In New Jersey, TikTok has banned users for posting content that brought awareness to the CCP’s horrific genocide and forced labor of the Uyghur people. It’s nothing short of dangerous that the CCP controls a key source of information for millions of Americans – including so many teenagers and children who’ve seen their mental health harmed by the app. This bipartisan legislation should be passed immediately to protect our democracy, our national security, and our kids,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to mark up the legislation on Thursday, March 7.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act creates a rules-based process by which the President can restrict the app store availability and access to U.S.-based web hosting services of foreign adversary-controlled social media applications, unless they sever ties to the foreign adversary controlled-company. The President may exercise this authority if an application presents a national security threat, has over one million annual active users, and is under the control of a foreign adversary entity (including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea); the People’s Republic of China; the Russian Federation; and the Islamic Republic of Iran). The legislation also requires TikTok to be fully divested by its parent company ByteDance, Ltd. to avoid a prohibition in the U.S. from app store availability and web hosting services.

This legislation comes in response to recent reporting that the CCP accesses the data of TikTok users on a broad scale and works with ByteDance, Ltd. to restrict access to anti-regime content such as mentions of the Uyghur genocide and forced labor, Tibet, or the Tiananmen Square massacre. Last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the CCP could use TikTok to shape public opinion in the United States in the event of a US-China conflict, such as a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

As a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the CCP, Congresswoman Sherrill is fighting to protect U.S. democratic values like freedom of the press and speech, re-shore American manufacturing, strengthen our supply chains and lower costs for families, and ensure New Jersey is a place where businesses can grow, create jobs, and thrive. Last year, she introduced her American Jobs and Competition Plan to address security challenges posed by CCP-affiliated technology, combat the CCP’s unfair trade practices, boost the role of the Department of Commerce, and strengthen America’s partnerships and alliances.

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