No Tiktok on Government Devices Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HAWLEY. Madam President, I would like to make a few brief remarks today about TikTok, an app that has dominated the news in recent weeks and has dominated the internet in recent years.

As most of you know, TikTok is used to create short music videos, and it has grown to be one of the most popular apps in America. More than 80 million Americans now have TikTok on their personal phones. It might be easy just to assume that this app is harmless--music videos, diverting fun--but, let me assure you, the security concerns surrounding TikTok are real and not lighthearted in the least.

TikTok is currently a major security risk, both to our data security and to our national security. ByteDance, which is TikTok's parent corporation, is based in Beijing, and we all know that Chinese corporations and the Chinese Communist Party are, in many ways, the same thing. In fact, China's national intelligence law requires it to be so.

ByteDance, as a Chinese company, is obligated to collaborate with Chinese intelligence services, including by sharing data. In fact, all of the data that TikTok and ByteDance collect--and they collect a lot of data--can be routed at a moment's notice to the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok is a uniquely intrusive application. The company openly admits that it tracks users' locations, it tracks users' keystroke patterns, it tracks the filenames on users' devices. TikTok essentially claims the right to peer straight through our phones into our lives.

I could go on. TikTok has censored content critical of China's treatment of Uighur Muslims and has violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Now, in light of all this, in light of all we know, it is unthinkable to me that we should continue to permit Federal employees--those workers entrusted with sensitive government data--to access this app on their work phones and computers. Not only is it inappropriate; it is irresponsible. This app represents a clear and present security risk at a time when we need to be clear-eyed about the threat from the Chinese Communist Party.

That is why I introduced legislation to remove TikTok from government-owned phones and devices. Now, this is just common sense, and it follows steps that the Pentagon has started to take on its own, but we badly need a uniform standard that can apply across all Federal agencies and government organizations.

Now, over the last few days we have heard a lot about a potential acquisition or sale of TikTok in the United States, but no one can say yet what will come of those talks. Deals fall through all the time, and TikTok is a threat to the security of Federal devices right now. Every day we wait is a day ByteDance can collect more information on and about Americans. Today is the day to take action.

Even if TikTok ends up being sold eventually, it will be the responsibility of this body, the responsibility of all of us, to make sure that no trace of Beijing's influence remains--none at all.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their support, and I particularly want to thank Senator Rick Scott, who has been my partner on this effort from the very beginning. It is always a privilege to work with and collaborate with Senator Scott, as we have on so many areas, and he has been, as I said, at the forefront of this effort from the very beginning. He is here today, and I would like to yield to him now to make a few remarks.

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Mr. HAWLEY. Again, I thank Senator Scott for his work on this effort, his leadership on this effort, and his leadership across the board when it comes to standing up to Communist China--the Chinese Communist Party.

I also want to thank my friends Senator Cotton, Senator Ernst, Senator Kennedy, Senator McSally, and all other Senators who have backed this legislation, along with Congressman Ken Buck, who has led this effort in the House.

Just 2 weeks ago, this legislation passed unanimously out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. I also want to thank my colleagues there, especially Chairman Johnson, who has been a champion on this effort and has worked hard in the last couple of weeks to make sure we can bring this bill to the floor.

I am encouraged by the bipartisan support we have seen in this body to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable, and that includes, by the way, holding accountable those corporations that would just do China's bidding. If I have anything to say about it, we will not be stopping here.

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