A House Divided: House Members Debate the Severity of Legislation on TikTok’s Data Collection following CEO’s Appearance Before the House of Homeland Security

By Vega S. Sarma

House members call for a nationwide ban on the social media powerhouse TikTok, following CEO Shou Zi Chew’s appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee on February 20th to discuss American data collection. 

The House of Homeland Security questioned Shou Zi Chew about TikTok’s affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party, asking how the company uses American data collected by users across the country. Chew claims that United States House members are “too scared to combat TikTok,” a claim that appears unsubstantial according to the House response. House members discussed the proposed Keep Our Data Domestic Act, which suggested providing incentives to China to move user data to American servers. The bill was met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans and eventually did not pass after a steep debate. Members are still debating to find a solution for this issue, and many are advocating for a nationwide ban.

Chew, after speaking with the committee, felt that he was being asked “absolutely irresponsible questions,” such as “where his company stores user data”. According to Pablo Jose Hernandez, representative of Puerto Rico, Chew repeatedly informed the Senate “that he was Singaporean, and he was not answering the questions.”

Hernandez introduced the bill Keep Our Data Domestic Act, which is “trying to keep United States data on United States servers”. The bill proposes to “establish a task force with FBI agents who specialize in cybersecurity to oversee data that may be a threat to national security” Hernandez explained. Hernandez argues that the act is “bipartisan, a little more democratic leaning,” as the act does not attempt to ban TikTok but places restrictions on the app.

After the bill was introduced, Wisconsin Republican Senator Mike Gallagher spoke with the committee to oppose the act. Gallagher argues that “there should be a full divestment from Chinese to American leadership,” and “if America does not take control, there would have to be a ban.”

Following intense debate, the act failed to advance out of committee, with 13 voting in favor, 30 opposing, and 0 abstaining. The House of Homeland Security will continue to discuss further bills, such as THE DREAM BILL. The debates opposing the act all followed a similar theme of Republicans calling for a ban on the app as a direct threat to China to move data to United States servers. This ban would force around 130-170 million active users from accessing the app, which would alienate those in the country from content published on the app. This ban could prevent important information from being shared, and will require urgent response from ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok, on the possibility of moving American user data to American servers. With the House of Homeland Security holding a Republican majority, legislation requiring a ban on the app will likely be passed.