MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The U.S. House of Representatives has voted 352 to 65 to ban TikTok from the United States or force a sale.
TikTok has more than 170 million users in America and is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance Ltd.
On MetroNews “Talkline,” Republican Congressman and candidate for the U.S. Senate Alex Mooney said the speed of this legislation initially raises concerns.
“I’m always a little suspicious when they rush things without proper hearings, and there are no amendments on the floor,” Mooney said. “I would consider looking at something that applies not just to Tic Toc but to every platform in the country to make sure our data is secure.”
Mooney said he would favor broader legislation that would address guidelines for personal data held by all social media companies.
“For me, it’s less about the ownership and more about the security of our data in general, and to make sure our data is not being spread around,” Mooney said. “That we have the choice as to whether or not your data is shared and to minimize the hacking.”
Former President Trump and U.S. Senator Rand Paul have each expressed skepticism about the bill. Paul said for Americans with a stake in ByteDance, it would take property away from an American citizen where no crime has been proven. Former President Trump has speculated that if TikTok were banned, the activity would merely move to another platform not covered by a ban in America.
“People will then go to Facebook, and there have been a lot of concerns about Facebook in the past few years about influencing elections and censoring free speech among conservatives,” Mooney said. “So, you’re talking about a bigger issue here as to who gets to determine what we look at?”
Rather than rush this piece of legislation, which could have unintended consequences, Mooney wants to follow the process and present ideas he’s been considering.
“We have legislation we’re working on to protect folks who are being lied to about the internet, but right now they don’t have that protection,” Mooney said. “There are things we can do that make sense, but I don’t think it’s going after one app and giving the president sweeping powers.”
Mooney said we all need to check and double-check news sources for accuracy, especially with an approaching election. But this is a time when parents can step in and monitor what their children are doing online and possibly even place some limits.
“The parents need to get involved here; I’ve been asking family members about Tic Toc because I’m personally not on it,” Mooney said. ” But parents need to get involved in what their kids are watching, and we all need to be careful about what news we trust.”
President Biden has said he plans to sign the measure if it is approved by the U.S. Senate, the next hurdle for the bill.
