On Tuesday, billionaire tech executive and X owner Elon Musk raised concerns about a bill making its way through Congress that seeks to clamp down on U.S. access to social media applications such as Chinese-owned TikTok unless they sever ties with foreign adversaries that are deemed a national security threat.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist” who championed the “Twitter Files,” responded to a post from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) highlighting text from the legislation that addresses websites and businesses that provide services to social media platforms found to be in violation of proposed law.
“The so-called TikTok ban is a trojan horse. The President will be given the power to ban WEB SITES, not just Apps. The person breaking the new law is deemed to be the U.S. (or offshore) INTERNET HOSTING SERVICE or App Store, not the ‘foreign adversary,'” Massie said in a post to X.
“This law is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control!” Musk posted in reply. “If it were just about TikTok, it would only cite ‘foreign control’ as the issue, but it does not.”
This law is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control!
If it were just about TikTok, it would only cite “foreign control” as the issue, but it does not. https://t.co/3hpePCE1nS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 12, 2024
The bill, called the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” was unveiled with bipartisan support that paired GOP lawmakers such as House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) with the likes of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
According to a press release from the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the “bill prevents app store availability or web hosting services in the U.S. for ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the application severs ties to entities like ByteDance that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary, as defined by Congress in Title 10.”
“In addition,” the release added, “the bill creates a process for the President to designate certain, specifically defined social media applications that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary — per Title 10 — and pose a national security risk. Designated applications will face a prohibition on app store availability and web hosting services in the U.S. unless they sever ties to entities subject to the control of a foreign adversary through divestment.”
After passing through the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a bipartisan vote of 50-0 last week, the legislation is poised to get a floor vote as early as this week. President Joe Biden said he would sign the bill into law if it advances through both chambers of Congress.
TikTok warned the bill would “trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.” The company also urged users to “speak up” against the legislation, which the Associated Press reported has led to a flood of calls to congressional offices.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, introduced the legislation with Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the panel’s ranking member.
When The Daily Wire reached out for comment on the posts from Musk and Massie on Tuesday, the panel shared a statement from Gallagher defending the legislation.
“The bill does not impact websites in general. It has a very narrowly tailored definition that can only apply to foreign adversary controlled social media, like the TikTok app and TikTok.com — anything controlled by China, Russia, Iran or North Korea that pose a national security threat. It creates a very high bar for what constitutes a national security threat,” Gallagher said.
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“The bill addresses both foreign adversary-controlled apps and their associated websites, but only websites that power an adversary controlled social media app, again, like tiktok.com. That is the only reason the word ‘website’ is even in the bill,” the congressman added. “The Chinese Communist Party does not have a First Amendment right to conduct malign influence operations in the United States. We need to cut out the Chinese Communist Party tumor from TikTok and compel Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok.”
Gallagher continued, “What the bill does is give TikTok a simple choice: either side with its users and pave the way for its operations as an American company and allow people to speak free from the fear of propaganda and censorship OR side with the Chinese Communist Party. It’s up to TikTok.”