Top Intelligence Republican Mike Turner insists that the House bill that would force the sale of TikTok by its Chinese owners is not a ban on the beloved social media app.
Rep. Turner (R-Ohio) insisted that Americans who use TikTok for income will not ‘lose their livelihood’ under the new legislation, which passed the House last week and sent advocates for the app into a frenzy.
Many claim the bill would ban TikTok in the U.S., but Republican advocates for the legislation say it just requires that to continue operation in the U.S. it no longer be tied to China.
The bill’s author, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) insists its important to pass the bill forcing TikTok to ‘break up with the Chinese Communist Party.’
He said in an interview on CBS News Face The Nation on Sunday that the forced sale of TikTok ‘absolutely could’ happen before November’s election.
ABC News This Week host Martha Raddatz told Turner that there are claims that TikTok supports at least 224,000 American jobs and some are worried about losing income.
‘I don’t think they’ll lose their livelihood,’ Turner said in a Sunday interview. ‘They have obviously undertaken a livelihood that is communicating to people through social apps and social media.’
House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said the TikTok bill is ‘not a ban’ and insisted Americans will ‘not lose their livelihood’
‘And this is not a ban on TikTok as you know,’ the House Intelligence Chairman added. ‘This is actually a piece of legislation that requires that the Chinese ownership of TikTok be divested so that we would sever that relationship between Chinese ownership, the Chinese government, the Chinese communist party that is of such troubling concerns.’
The House passed on Wednesday morning in a bipartisan 352 – 65 vote the bill that would force the app’s Chinese parent company to divest if it wants to continue operating in the U.S.
Republicans sided with the bill despite calls from former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to go against the bill against the wildly popular video app platform.
Now, the bill goes to the upper chamber where senators will decide whether the national security threat posed by TikTok is worth the headache from constituents who love the app, and have been calling lawmakers nonstop asking them to vote against the measure.
The social media company boasts over 150 million American users.
Previously, Chairman Turner noted on Sunday, India banned TikTok over similar security and data harvesting concerns as those now posed by the U.S. government.
He also pointed to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banning users in their country against using U.S. social media apps Twitter, Facebook and YouTube because ‘of their concerns of the voices of democracy being heard.’
The House China Select Committee says CCP officials through ByteDance are using TikTok to spy on its U.S. users’ locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, in turn posing a national security threat.
If passed, ByteDance would have 165 days after its signed into law by President Joe Biden to divest from TikTok.
Should ByteDance refuse to divest, app stores and web hosting platforms would not be allowed to distribute it in the U.S.
It’s likely the bill could become law considering the widespread bipartisan support of lawmakers to decouple TikTok from the CCP.
As the bill has gained more steam, so too has its opposition.
Trump threw cold water on it last week, insisting if TikTok is banned its rival Facebook would ‘double their business.’
‘I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better,’ Trump wrote in a social media post. ‘They are a true Enemy of the People!’
Elon Musk joined Trump in opposing the effort to reign in TikTok’s influence, calling it government ‘censorship,’ in a post on X Tuesday.
‘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,’ Musk stated.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also voted against the bill, mentioning Musk by name, praising him for restoring her account on X after it was formerly banned and decrying the ‘Pandora’s Box’ this bill could open.
‘What’s to stop the U.S. government in the future from forcing the sale of another social media company claiming it is protecting American’s data from foreign adversaries?’
‘I believe this bill can cause future problems. It’s opening Pandora’s Box and I am opposed to this bill,’ Greene said Wednesday on the House floor.
‘This is really about controlling Americans’ data, and if we cared about Americans’ data then we would stop the sale of Americans’ data universally, not just with China.’
TikTok advocates gathered outside of the Capitol ahead of Wednesday’s vote to push back against the bill. Many claim they would lose their income if TikTok is banned in the U.S.
Greene was among a number of significant GOP members who voted against the bill, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
On the other side of the aisle, ‘Squad’ members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) also voted against the measure.
One lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) voted present.
TikTok and the CCP both pushed back against the ‘ban.’
‘This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban,’ ‘ TikTok said in a statement shared with DailyMail.com after the House passed the bill.
‘We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.’
CCP foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement: ‘Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens US national security, it has not stopped suppressing TikTok.’
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement the vote ‘demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies.’
‘I urge the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the President so he can sign it into law,’ he continued.
In response to the growing support behind the bill, TikTok sent out a push notification to its 100 million users yesterday telling them ‘Your voice matters in stopping the shutdown.’
The notification prompted users to reach out to their congressional members to urge them to vote against the proposed bill. As a result, congressional offices received hundreds of calls about the bill Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, congressional aides told DailyMail.com.
Many callers appeared to be children or concerned parents begging the app not be banned.
Users are being told the bill threatens TikTok’s very existence, though what it actually does is force its parent company to divest – something callers are largely in support of once staffers explain the nuance of the bill.
‘TikTok’s campaign to have users call their representatives shows just how much control they have. This campaign is reminiscent of typical Communist Party tactics,’ Rep. Greg Murphy, R- N.C., told DailyMail.com in a statement Tuesday.
‘Unfortunately, these callers don’t understand what they are really advocating for – they are following orders from Beijing. The CCP is hoping to replicate their modus operandi of telling their citizens what to do.’
His office’s phones were ‘blowing up’ according to staff. Murphy voted in favor of the bill Wednesday.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., told DailyMail.com he is in favor of the bill and despite the deluge of calls, ‘ We’ll talk to any constituent that wants to call in and talk to us through this.’
‘We’re explaining our position, and it’s a normal part of the process,’ he said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle accused TikTok of harvesting and providing its U.S. user data to its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance, which they say has connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) told DailyMail.com that though he does not know yet how he will vote on the bill, ‘It won’t be because 16-year-olds call me from all over the country.’
The bill passed through committee last week with a bipartisan unanimous 50-0 vote.
In a statement, TikTok said of the bill’s passing committee: ‘This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.’
Some lawmakers expressed reservations about how the TikTok bill could impact First Amendment protections.
‘I think it’s a terrible idea and it’s hysteria that’s running through both parties now.’ Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told DailyMail.com Friday.
‘In America, we don’t just tell people you can’t own a company because we don’t like you. And 150 million people use their First Amendment freedom to express themselves on TikTok, and you can’t just have that taken away from them.’
