John,

You may have seen the news that a bipartisan bill was passed that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if the app isn’t sold by its parent company, ByteDance, within, at most, the next year.

At Issue One, this is big news for our tech reform efforts to ensure platform transparency and safeguard our national security. Read the statement our Founder and CEO, Nick Penniman, issued in response to the news, below:

“Issue One applauds the legislative action recently taken to curb the influence of the Chinese government over the popular app TikTok.

“Our adversaries have a vested interest in disrupting our democracy, our elections, and driving a wedge between the U.S. and our trusted allies. TikTok is a serious national security threat because it could give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) access to sensitive American user data, and be used as a tool by the CCP to influence U.S. public opinion, by manipulating TikTok’s algorithms to support the Chinese government’s interests. While we are heartened to see this bipartisan deal to safeguard U.S. national security, lawmakers can’t stop with this one app.

“China, Russia, and others frequently exploit the vulnerabilities of American-based platforms to divide and undermine American democracy. We need legislation that applies the same security, privacy, and transparency standards to all social media platforms. Together with Republicans and Democrats, we can build a healthier information environment that strengthens our democracy, rather than undermines it.”

We’ll continue to work towards a healthier digital information environment for our democracy.

Onwards,
The Issue One Team