Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace and HBO late night show host Bill Maher debated Friday about the reasons she voted against a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the app or face a ban.
The House voted to pass bipartisan legislation on Wednesday that would force ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese-based parent company, to sell the app or face a ban inside the United States, citing national security concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be exploiting the platform and user data. Mace appeared alongside Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna on “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday to discuss why they voted against the bill. (RELATED: Beijing Scrambles To Defend TikTok Amid Looming Threat Of US Ban)
“Now the House has voted and I think they passed it pretty overwhelmingly, right? They voted for that. The Commerce Committee voted to ban or sell Tiktok 50 to nothing. I’ve never heard that in America even when we got along,” Maher told Mace and Khanna. “Who didn’t vote for the bill? You, you, (pointing at Mace and Khanna), Donald Trump’s against it, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] is against it, and Marjorie Taylor Greene is against it… What is the common ground there?”
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Khanna explained that he believed it was ultimately a First Amendment freedom of speech issue. Mace agreed with Khanna and noted it was also a Fifth Amendment issue, referring to due process standards in shutting TikTok down inside the U.S.
“You’ve been a consistent First Amendment person, even when the FBI and federal agencies were telling social media companies to clamp down and censor stories on Twitter and stuff, you are there defending the First Amendment,” Mace said, referring to prior positions Khana has taken on the First Amendment. “It’s a First Amendment issue. I think it’s potentially a Fifth Amendment issue. It’s not the government’s role to ban apps from the App stores or ban websites.”
Maher agreed with Mace and Khanna in the desire to protect free speech but noted concerns that the CCP could manipulate the app to its own benefit and push content that may undermine democratic values and national security.
“I think I’m with you guys, I’m always a free-speech person,” Maher responded. “Most of it is absolutely innocent. But it’s also there when [the CCP] needs it not to be. And we saw that after the Israeli war broke out, because the kids all wound up on the side of Hamas.”
“So yes, you keep it there and you keep it innocent. It’s mostly just dancing,” Maher said. “[But] when you need it to change people’s minds? Don’t kid yourself. They do have it and they’re not acting in our best interests.”
Now that the House has passed the legislation, it is up to the Senate whether or not to take it up and vote on it. If passed by the Senate, the bill will reach the desk of President Joe Biden, who has signaled he will sign it.
TikTok has vehemently come out against the legislation, claiming that it is an “outright ban” of the app.
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