Walberg Applauds Passage of Bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act

Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05) released the following statement after the House passage of H.R. 7521, Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act:

"Foreign-controlled social media platforms, like TikTok, pose a significant national security threat according to experts," said Rep. Walberg. "Today's overwhelmingly bipartisan vote reflects an urgency to prevent adversaries from spying on Americans and abusing their personal data. If this legislation is enacted, TikTok will be forced to either break off its connection with the CCP or face removal from app stores in America."

Background

• On March 23, 2023, in response to Rep. Tim Walberg's questions of whether any American data was stored or accessible in China, TikTok CEO Chew stated under oath, “American data has always been stored in Virginia and Singapore in the past, and access of this is on an as-required basis by our engineers globally.”
• On May 30, 2023, Forbes reported that TikTok collected sensitive data, such as Social Security numbers and tax identification numbers, from numerous TikTok users and businesses. Shockingly, this data was stored on servers located in China and was accessible to employees of ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company.
• On June 8, 2023, Rep. Walberg led 12 colleagues demanding the Department of Justice review false statements made by TikTok CEO Chew under oath. Senator Rubio sent a similar letter.
• On March 7, 2024, Rep. Walberg voted to advance H.R. 7521 and issued a statement outlining his national security concerns. 

Congressman Walberg serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee. For more information on Walberg's work in Congress visit walberg.house.gov.