An outspoken critic of what he considers censorship from the federal government and big tech companies, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. condemned the House of Representatives for passing a bill that could ban TikTok from the United States and give the president broad authority to target foreign firms in the country.
If signed into law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will legally require TikTok to divest from ByteDance, its China-based parent company, or face a ban on American app stores and hosting services.
“The so-called ‘Tik Tok ban’ is actually a Trojan Horse that could allow the president to ban any website or app merely by asserting that it is ‘controlled or guided’ by a foreign adversary,” Mr. Kennedy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the House passed the proposed legislation.
“Every right the government has ever taken away was removed under the false pretense of national security. Remember that when members of Congress give Joe Biden the power to remove an app from your phone,” Mr. Kennedy added.
“Ironically, Joe Biden himself just joined TikTok! People love TikTok. It’s the digital public square. If there are security concerns in the tech back-end, let’s address them there. But let’s never reduce Americans’ ability to freely exchange ideas,” Mr. Kennedy continued.
Mr. Kennedy, who according to polls has widespread support among voters younger than 35, said TikTok “has become an avenue for young Americans to express themselves and join in the political discourse.”
He noted that his campaign found one of its “key staffers” on the social media platform.
The measure that could ban TikTok in the United States was passed in a bipartisan 352 to 65 vote on March 13 and will now head to the Senate.
If that chamber passes the legislation, President Joe Biden has said he would sign it into law.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
After the bill gained unanimous approval from his committee, Mr. Gallagher said in a statement: “This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users.”
“TikTok’s time in the United States is over unless it ends its relationship with CCP-controlled ByteDance.”
TikTok told The Epoch Times in an email that the proposed measure “will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”
While Mr. Kennedy supports what he has called the right for Americans to access TikTok, he has been outspoken about Big Tech censorship and what he has deemed partnerships between Big Tech platforms and the federal government.
The March 13 House vote occurred days before the Supreme Court was set to hear oral arguments in the free speech case Murthy v. Missouri, formerly known as Missouri v. Biden.
The Biden administration on March 18 will attempt to reverse a lower court’s ruling that bans government-directed censorship of online speech on social media platforms such as Facebook and X.
Public policy statements from Mr. Kennedy, the personal account of President Donald Trump, and content expressing concern over the COVID-19 vaccine from medical doctors are among the examples of censored speech that resulted in the case’s filing.
“President Biden enjoys censoring and silencing those who dare to question him—so it’s no surprise he supports banning TikTok.
“The First Amendment should not be disregarded for any reason. We should be encouraging more discourse instead of less,” Mr. Kennedy wrote on X.
“Americans can’t rely on the big three networks to give them fair information. As president, I will fight for free speech and for Americans to have platforms with which to grow their businesses and express themselves.”
