National Security Act, 2024
Floor Speech
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Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, does anybody believe that hashtag ``StandwithKashmir'' is organically more popular than hashtag ``TaylorSwift''? No, of course not, but right now, on TikTok, hashtag ``StandwithKashmir'' has 20 times more posts than hashtag ``TaylorSwift.''
This is a direct example of the Chinese Communist Party using their control of TikTok to skew public opinion on foreign events in their favor. China is our chief foreign adversary in the world. They are a threat to our national security, our values, our economy, and the CCP works tirelessly every day to undermine our entire way of life. TikTok is one of the ways they are doing that.
I understood that as Governor. That is why I was the first Governor in the country to ban the use of TikTok on State devices back in 2020, and that is why I will be voting for this bill today. Today, we are taking action to end the Chinese Communist Party's ability to own and operate TikTok in the United States.
TikTok's active users include over 150 million Americans. That is almost half of our country's entire population. It has become the most influential news platform in the country. The percentage of TikTok users who regularly get their news from this app has doubled since 2020. The problem, however, is that what that news is, what slant that news has, is being entirely controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. We don't allow this for TV stations or radio stations. You have to be a U.S. citizen to own a TV station or a radio station in this country. Why are we letting our greatest adversary in the world own a news platform?
TikTok, under CCP ownership, promotes or demotes content based on whether it aligns with the CCP's interests and its agenda. This has major, real-world implications here at home and around the world.
Look at what is happening on our college campuses right now in this country. Pro-Hamas activists are taking over public spaces and making it impossible for campuses to operate. Jewish students are being told to leave campus because their universities can't guarantee their safety. There are a lot of other things wrong with this, including the failure to prioritize student safety over appeasement of terrorist sympathizers.
But why is this happening?
Well, let's look at where young people are getting their news. Nearly a third of adults 18 to 29 years old--these young people in the United States--are regularly getting their news exclusively from TikTok. Pro- Palestinian and pro-Hamas hashtags are generating 50 times the views on TikTok right now despite the fact that polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support Israel over Hamas. These videos have more reach than the top 10 news websites combined.
This is not a coincidence. The Chinese Communist Party is doing this on purpose. They are pushing this racist agenda with the intention of undermining our democratic values, and if you look at what is happening at Columbia University and other campuses across the country right now, they are winning.
I want to talk about another example that means a lot to folks back home whom I represent in Nebraska.
We know that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in China. Instagram and TikTok currently have about the same number of users in the United States; However, if you look at the content, there is a 400-to-1 ratio for content that blames China for this pandemic on Instagram compared to TikTok. Again, Instagram has 400 times the number of posts blaming China for COVID than on TikTok.
On TikTok, the Chinese Communist Party has quashed dissent or criticism. They have done this for Tiananmen Square--which, again, on Instagram, there are 80 times the posts around Tiananmen Square than there are on TikTok, and on Hong Kong, there are 180 times the posts on Hong Kong being censored or being repressed versus on TikTok.
The Federal Government's job is to protect Americans against foreign and domestic threats. TikTok is a major foreign threat. The bill we are passing today puts an end to that. This bill ensures that our citizens are not improperly targeted, surveilled, or influenced by any foreign adversary.
Right now, the major threat is TikTok, but China can make another TikTok. That is why, instead of going after any specific app, this bill simply prohibits marketplaces, like the App Store or Google Play, from hosting applications controlled by foreign adversaries. This is just common sense.
It also establishes a narrow framework to protect against future apps. It allows the Federal Government to require divestment of applications controlled by a foreign adversary or face a prohibition on app stores and be denied access to web-hosting services in the United States. That power has very strict guidelines. The authority can only be exercised if an application is under the control of an adversarial foreign entity, presents a national security threat, and has over 1 million active users annually.
It also protects individual users. No enforcement action can be taken against individual users of banned applications. Civil enforcement actions may only be initiated against companies that violate the act.
The bill incentivizes China to divest from TikTok or TikTok will face a ban. If TikTok is divested from the CCP, it can continue to operate in the United States. If the restrictions are already in effect and TikTok is divested later, the restrictions will be lifted.
I believe the Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat we face in this Nation. They are fighting smart, trying to undermine us from within, and using technology like TikTok to do it. Together, by passing this bill, it is my hope that we will send a loud message and a clear message that America is not open to the CCP for influence.
We are taking a stand to protect our own, protect our values, and end a major Communist Chinese Party tool to attack us.
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