Sewell votes to force Tik Tok to divest its Chinese ownership group

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) voted in favor of the bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

Sewell (AL-07) released a statement following her vote for the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act:

"Throughout my time in Congress, I have fought to ensure that every American can cast their vote in free and fair elections," said Sewell. "Our elections are sacred, and we cannot allow our adversaries to undermine them by weaponizing Americans' personal data and using propaganda to sow chaos in our political system. As a former member of the House Intelligence Committee, I take seriously my responsibility to protect Americans against such threats, and it is clear to me that the ownership of TikTok's parent company by China poses a serious risk to our national security."

Sewell said that this legislation does not ban Tik Tok.

"To be clear, this bill does not ban TikTok outright," Sewell explained. "All TikTok has to do to remain operational in the United States is divest from its Chinese-owned parent company. It is my hope that TikTok will do the right thing so that everyday Americans and small businesses can continue to use and enjoy this app.

Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL04) also voted for the bill.

"We were all upset with the Chinese spy balloon that flew over our nation last year," said Aderholt on the social media platform X. "As long as ByteDance owns it, TikTok is 170 million spy balloons right in our phones."

"Americans should be free to use the apps they choose, but they should also be free from those apps spying on them on behalf of a foreign adversary," Aderholt continued.

If the bill becomes law Tik Tok would be given six months for the Chinese parent company, ByteDance to sell its controlling stake or the app would be blocked in the USA.

The bill passed overwhelmingly in a bipartisan vote. It now goes to the Senate.

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