March 13, 2024

Rep. Sykes Votes to Protect Americans’ Privacy & Security Online

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) voted in favor of H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,  that would require TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the app and sell it to a company not owned by foreign adversaries. 

“I want to be clear: this is not a ban on TikTok. This bill addresses real national security and privacy concerns with Chinese-owned ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and would require them to divest from the app. With those changes, the platform will remain accessible to users while preventing data exploitation,” said Rep. Sykes. “As a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I believe there is more work to be done to ensure all social media apps, not just TikTok, can be safely regulated to protect the privacy and security of all Americans who use them.”

The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act passed the U.S. House with strong bipartisan support in a vote of 352-65-1 and now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate