Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Newsmax that a bipartisan group of lawmakers are on board with measures that could lead to banning TikTok in the United States.
Joining "Prime News" on Thursday, Burchett said the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on which he sits, already has forwarded legislation that would severely restrict ByteDance, a Beijing-based social media company that owns TikTok.
President Joe Biden is "obviously compromised with his son's business involvements with the Communist Chinese, but I think he sees the writing on the wall as well," Burchett said.
"Even the Democrats in the Senate know this thing is just a boondoggle for the Communist Chinese to spy on us," he added.
His comments arrive after Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, pledged to back the RESTRICT Act, proposed jointly by Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and John Thune, R-S.D.
The legislation would require the Department of Commerce to establish procedures to potentially block foreign information and communications technology products if they risk national security.
In addition, the bill necessitates the department prioritize foreign technology that affects critical infrastructure. Coordination with the director of national intelligence over how the blocked transactions threaten national security is also outlined.
Burchett said he does not believe the effort to ban TikTok is a question of censorship. Instead, it's about defending a "sworn enemy of this country" from intervening in the day-to-day lives of Americans.
"There's no other reason for it than to spy on us," the congressman said of China. "Their military uses these things. The tentacles are very deep with this group."
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