MRC President Brent Bozell is doubling down on his support for a bipartisan bill aiming to put an end to TikTok’s communist Chinese government ties.
In a Wednesday interview with WMAL-FM’s Larry O’Connor, Bozell reiterated the need to pass the legislation that authorizes the president of the United States to ban TikTok if it does not divest from its parent company, ByteDance. “The greatest threat to the United States controls the data of 150 million Americans, and is using it,” Bozell said, raising the alarm about TikTok.
The bill overwhelmingly passed the House and now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to face opposition due to potential weaponization concerns, meaning it could be applied to other companies.
But Bozell declared that the bill’s text is “black and white,” retorting against claims that the bill may be used to target other American companies. “Frankly, there are some people that are obfuscating, and they’re doing the bidding of those who are funding the lobbying,” Bozell said.
Bozell continued: “This bill focuses only on social media apps that are controlled by a) China, b) Russia, c) Iran and d) North Korea—and they have to be shown to be national security threats to the United States. That’s it.”
Despite the bipartisan support for the bill in the House, where it passed 352 to 65, some senators, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), are dubiously speculating that the federal government may exploit such a law. Bozell sympathized with some of the concerns but warned: “I don’t like the government intruding in anything, but even less do I like foreign governments, most especially the greatest threats to the United States of America, also interfering?”
The MRC president highlighted the unanimous support for the law in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where it passed 50 to 0.
Bozell’s WMAL interview came after he released a video statement urging lawmakers to embrace the bill.
“It is absolutely correct and necessary for TikTok to divest itself of any control from the communist Chinese government in China if it wants to do business in the United States,” Bozell said. “I support this bill. I support reining in TikTok. I support stopping the communist Chinese from influencing the United States subversively.”
TikTok must divest itself from China if it wants to do business in the United States.
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) March 12, 2024
We at the MRC have been consistent from the beginning. TikTok is a national security threat. @BrentBozell pic.twitter.com/FfSh1futU3
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