River Region Times

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Barry Moore voiced his opposition to H.R. 7521, a bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) that aims to effectively ban TikTok unless they sell their U.S. operations to a competitor within 180 days. The popular social media platform is utilized by over 170 million Americans.

"We need to protect Americans' data from bulk exports by foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but targeting and functionally banning a singular company is not the right way to do it," expressed Rep. Barry Moore. "This approach infringes on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans and negatively affects more than five million small businesses by going after TikTok instead of the problem at hand."

Rep. Moore emphasized the importance of addressing the issue without impinging on the rights and opportunities of millions of Americans. He stated, "Congress needs to protect the privacy of our young people and restrict data transfers, not companies."

The debate on H.R. 7521 continues as legislators deliberate on the best approach to safeguarding American data privacy while considering the implications for social media companies and their users.