McCarthy says House ‘will be moving forward’ with TikTok restriction

The House appears poised to introduce legislation to restrict TikTok following an endorsement from Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“It is deeply concerning that TikTok’s CEO cannot be honest and admit what we already know is true: China has access to TikTok user data,” the California Republican tweeted Sunday after CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in Congress last week .

“The House will continue to pass legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Whether Congress will proceed with a full ban or some other type of restriction remains unclear as there are a number of bills floating around in Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also said a ban on TikTok should be looked into.

“It is deeply concerning that TikTok’s CEO cannot be honest and admit what we already know to be true: China has access to TikTok user data,” the California Republican tweeted.

Even with 150 million Americans using China’s video-sharing platform, calls to limit or ban the app have grown on both sides, especially after an evasive Chew faced whims from members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday.

Energy and Commerce chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers told CNN on Sunday that the hearing “made it clear” to her that TikTok should be banned “immediately.”

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning hit back by saying the US targeted TikTok with a “presumption of guilt” but had provided no real evidence that the app posed a threat to national security.

“The US must respect fair competition and stop suppressing foreign companies,” Mao said.

Leaders of the House Select Committee on China Competition, Representatives Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Khrishnamoorthi, D-Calif., have pushed for legislation that would ban the app or force the sale of a Chinese company to a US company ByteDance. But the Chinese government has said it opposes such a sale.

Other bills would give the Biden administration more power to ban foreign companies it deems a threat to national security, and the president has approved such legislation.

The White House has also said it doesn’t think Project Texas, TikTok’s attempt to shield US user data from ByteDance and store it in the US, goes far enough.

At the hearing, Chew defended TikTok and insisted that foreign entities cannot access US user data through the platform.

At one point, Chew was asked if parent company ByteDance was spying on Americans on behalf of the CCP.

“I don’t think ‘spying’ is the right way to describe it,” Chew replied. He added that he has seen “no evidence” that Chinese government officials have access to US user data.

“I think this increases the likelihood that Congress will take action,” Gallagher told ABC on Sunday.

“It’s not just about exfiltrating data from an American phone. It’s what they can force on Americans through the algorithm, control our sense of reality, control the news and meddle in future elections.”

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, told DailyMail.com that the hearing convinced him of the need for a complete ban on TikTok.

“At the moment I am in favor of an outright ban. We need to get rid of this, this is killing us, literally killing our children and this is psychological warfare.”