Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) stated that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, based in China, should be made to sell the app, but he argued that a ban under current legislation would be too extreme.
Khanna opposed a bill on Wednesday that would make ByteDance sell TikTok within 165 days or face a ban in U.S. app stores and web hosting services. The bill was passed by the House with strong bipartisan support.
The California Democrat was among 65 lawmakers, including 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans, who voted against the legislation. He mentioned concerns about free speech as a reason for opposing the bill.
“There are two main reasons why the courts would reject this if the Senate were to consider it,” Khanna told MSNBC on Wednesday. “It’s not the most minimal way to protect people’s data and privacy.”
“You could establish an Internet Bill of Rights. You could impose financial penalties. A ban is extreme, and you have to choose the least restrictive means,” he added.
“Secondly, under the Supreme Court, you need an alternative way of communication,” Khanna added. “It is very difficult for Americans to reach TikTok’s nearly billion users, especially international users, and I don’t believe the court would consider there to be alternative means of communication here.”
The TikTok legislation was initially introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, last week.
Khanna, who also serves on the committee, argued that there are other methods to safeguard Americans’ data privacy.
“I do have concerns, which is why I would have been fine with a forced sale,” he said. “But the ban, if the sale doesn’t happen, goes too far.”
“My concerns are protecting Americans’ data and privacy and making sure that doesn’t get into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party,” Khanna added. “But we can do that by passing an Internet Bill of Rights.”
