Rep. Schneider Statement on House-Passed Measure To Force C.C.P. Controlled Company ByteDance to Divest TikTok

WASHINGTON— Today, Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) released the following statement on his vote to force the Chinese-based company ByteDance, which has direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party, to either divest itself of control of TikTok or be banned from United States: 

“As Members of Congress, our top priority is to safeguard the security of our country and our people, in particular, ensuring our adversaries are not in position to threaten our democracy. While I believe the most pressing matter before the House should be immediately passing the essential national security funding bill to support our allies, Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, I also recognize that ByteDance, and it’s tight affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a clear and present danger for the United States, and the privacy and safety of the American people. 

“First, it’s shameful that Speaker Johnson and House Republicans are playing partisan political games rather than providing desperately needed funding to help Ukrainians and Israelis in their existential fights against tyranny and terror. This continues to be my focus and I will do all I can to allow an immediate, bipartisan vote in the House. 

“At the same time, we are faced with a very real challenge at home, as the CCP and its affiliated company, ByteDance, have infiltrated nearly half of American homes through their popular app TikTok. From accumulating massive amounts of Americans’ personal data, to providing a platform for malevolent players to push our hate and disinformation, TikTok gives the CCP extraordinary capacity to do harm to our country and our citizens.

“While today the House took action to urgently address the long-term threat of TikTok, Speaker Johnson needs to allow the House to act just as swiftly to support the immediate needs of our allies in Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. Americans are counting on us to do the right thing, and history is watching: we can and must do both!”

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