A Vague and Poorly Written Republican Bill Would Compel Biden to Block TikTok From App Stores

Republican House members in early March used their newfound Republican majority to jam through a controversial, rushed bill granting the Biden administration the authority to completely ban TikTok or other foreign software companies believed to be involved in the transfer of “sensitive data.” In some cases, the new bill called the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act, would compel Biden to ban the app even if his office did not’ want to.

The DATA act would revisit and loosen Cold War-era Berman amendments that limit the president’s ability to restrict foreign information materials under the International Emergency Powers Act. If passed, the DATA Act would make it so those rules don’t apply to software companies believed to have engaged in the transfer of “sensitive personal data.”

Critics of the bill, which include every Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee where it was being considered, say it is vague, overly broad, and written in haste. TikTok naturally opposes the ban but so do US civil liberties groups like the ACLU who warn it could lead to a “ “slippery slope for further carve-outs of the Berman Amendment.” Others, like Fight For The Future Director Evan Greer, say it’s incredibly hypocritical.

“If it weren’t so alarming, it would be hilarious that US policymakers are trying to ‘be tough on China’ by acting exactly like the Chinese government,” Greer told Gizmodo.