EGN NEWS DESK
Representative Ro Khanna, the California Democrat representing Silicon Valley, laid out his case towards a sweeping ban of the social media platform TikTok on Sunday after opposing laws that overwhelmingly handed the House final week, saying the invoice could be ineffective.
The laws handed the House, 352 to 65, on Wednesday, with Mr. Khanna amongst 50 Democrats, principally from the progressive wing, who voted towards it. He mentioned the main target must be on enhancing information privateness legal guidelines slightly than banning a social media platform.
“What is the precise proof that you simply couldn’t cross an information privateness regulation or regulation banning information going to a international nation, and get that accomplished that manner?” Mr. Khanna, one of many progressive Democrats, mentioned on ABC’s “This Week.” “The frustration is that we now have not been capable of cross these information privateness legal guidelines. Those legal guidelines would additionally cowl information brokers that are promoting information to Chinese firms. This invoice just isn’t truly addressing that concern.”
Those who opposed the invoice additionally cited considerations about violating Americans’ proper to free speech and hurting small-business house owners who depend on TikTok for his or her advertising and gross sales.
The laws mandates that TikTok’s mum or dad firm, ByteDance, promote its U.S. belongings inside six months after the invoice is signed right into a regulation or face an outright ban within the United States. Supporters of the measure fear in regards to the Chinese authorities having access to the info of roughly 150 million U.S. residents who use the video app and influencing the general public debate in America by tweaking the app’s algorithms to its favor.
While recognizing the considerations raised by TikTok’s critics, Mr. Khanna mentioned on Sunday that the safety threats from the Chinese authorities might be tackled extra successfully with “a narrowly tailor-made regulation” that forbids any switch of personal information of Americans to China and different international entities.
The United States doesn’t have a federal information privateness regulation that restricts the sale of private information, doubtlessly permitting international entities to buy the personal data of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Mr. Khanna has vowed for years to cross a brand new regulation that imposes restrictions on tech firms’ skill to gather and revenue from their customers’ information.
The invoice’s destiny within the Senate is unclear, however two senators — a Democrat and a Republican — mentioned on Sunday that that they had reservations in regards to the laws whereas expressing sympathy for calls to ban the app.
Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, mentioned on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was open to supporting the House invoice however had not made a remaining determination.
“We’ll see how the Senate needs to take this up,” Mr. Cardin mentioned. “But I would love us to get to the end line and supply the guardrails which might be essential.”
Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, partly echoed Mr. Cardin’s sentiments whereas emphasizing the necessity for swift motion towards TikTok.
“I’d prefer to see the ultimate language, however I’m definitely predisposed to vote for it,” Mr. Cassidy mentioned on “Meet the Press.” “Anyone who doesn’t assume that the Chinese Communist Party wish to affect how we predict in our nation simply doesn’t perceive what they do.”
