Press Releases

Earlier today, Congressman Salud Carbajal joined an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives in voting to advance the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, legislation aimed at severing the access that foreign governments have to American’s data via applications.

At the completion of the vote, Rep. Carbajal released a video statement aimed at clarifying the facts of the bill and why he supported it. The full statement can be found here.

“No, the bill passing the House today does not ban TikTok. This bill is a data security bill, one that would force TikTok and other foreign-owned social media apps to ensure that their databases – which are full of your personal data – don’t have direct links to foreign governments,” Rep. Carbajal says in the statement. “I know many of you like using this app, and I want you to continue to be able to enjoy it. But the threat of this app having a back door that leads straight to a foreign government surveilling and targeting Americans is really serious, especially when you consider more than 170 million Americans use this app. If these big tech companies don’t sever that pathway, which pose a huge risk to your data privacy and our national security, then that is on them.”

The full text of the bill advanced today can be found here.

Last week, the legislation was approved by the House Energy and Commerce committee by a bipartisan vote of 50 to 0.

The full text of the Congressman’s video statement can be found below:

“You may have been hearing a lot about a bill Congress is debating related to TikTok and data privacy. Unfortunately, not everything has been true, so I want to set the record straight about the bill I voted for today.

“No, the bill passing the House today does not ban TikTok. This bill is a data security bill, one that would force TikTok and other foreign-owned social media apps to ensure that their databases – which are full of your personal data – don’t have direct links to foreign governments, in particular China.

“I know many of you like using this app, and I want you to continue to be able to enjoy it. But the threat of this app having a back door that leads straight to a foreign government surveilling and targeting Americans is really serious. Especially when you consider that more than 170 million Americans use this app.

“If these big tech companies don’t sever that pathway, which pose a huge risk to your data privacy and our national security, then that is on them. Tell them you want to see them follow the steps this bill lays out to protect you and your data. Only if they refuse to cut these dangerous ties to foreign governments would the President consider escalating our nation’s response.

“In our digital world, the safety of your data has to be a top priority. Your data is your civil rights, your property rights, and your right to privacy – all rolled into one. That is why I take protecting that data seriously.

“And any foreign government having the ability to eavesdrop and potentially manipulate nearly half of our country’s population is not a threat we can ignore.

“This bill will eliminate that threat while giving big tech companies a pathway to preserving their apps for American audiences and users like you. I want to be clear: this is about protecting you”

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