Why three Pa. representatives voted against the TikTok ban bill

Three of Pennsylvania’s 17 representatives in Congress voted against a bill that passed the House on Wednesday that would lead to a nationwide ban of the video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake.

Two Democrats on opposite ends of the state, Rep. Brendan Boyle, in Philadelphia and Rep. Summer Lee, from the Pittsburgh area, voted against the bill, as did Republican Rep. Scott Perry, who represents parts of York and Cumberland counties.

The three represent a mix of political ideologies. Perry is an ultra-conservative former head of the House Freedom Caucus and an ally of former President Donald Trump’s.

Trump recently changed his position to oppose the ban after conversations with Pennsylvania billionaire Jeffrey Yass, whose firm has a large stake in TikTok.

Lee is Pennsylvania’s most left-leaning representative and part of “the Squad,” a group of young, progressive members of color in the House, many of whom voted against the bill. Boyle, who is from Northeast Philadelphia, is a co-chair of the Blue Collar Caucus and a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

The bill was prompted by lawmakers’ concerns that the company’s Chinese ownership poses a national security threat. It passed 352-65 with overwhelming bipartisan support in the House and now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.

President Joe Biden, whose campaign is on TikTok, has said if Congress passes the measure, he will sign it.

The wildly popular app has more than 170 million American users and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd. Lawmakers have contended that the firm is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the U.S. whenever it wants

The company has said it has invested to keep user data safe, but the vote is the latest example of increased tensions and distrust between China and the U.S. Opponents of the bill called it overly broad and warned that it could hurt people who depend on the app for their businesses.

Here’s why each Pennsylvania member said about why they voted against it.

Boyle said he attended the classified briefing Wednesday outlining evidence that supporters of the bill said illustrated the need for the legislation and was left “completely unconvinced.”

“We have a robust First Amendment that protects freedom of speech,” he said. “So before the government takes the remarkable step of banning a widely used social media app, and suppressing speech, there needs to be a compelling and convincing case that such a dramatic action is vital to our national security.”

Boyle said he has security and privacy concerns about TikTok, but seeks a solution “that also balances our constitutional rights.” He said he’d much rather see Congress focus on voting to fund the war in Ukraine.

Lee called TikTok “an incredible organizing tactic,” in a recent interview with The Hill. “We can think about privacy and security and make sure that we’re doing everything to ensure that, but also, banning TikTok is not, you know, the answer right now,” she said.

Lee, 36, was one of 50 Democrats to oppose the bill. Despite TikTok’s popularity with young people, the vote didn’t correspond with age of members. Lee was one of only five House members under the age of 40 to vote against it.

Other lawmakers opposing it included Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York; Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts; and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, all of whom are members “The Squad.”

Perry was one of 15 House Republicans to vote against the bill, which he compared to the Patriot Act passed after 9/11.

“Let me be clear: China’s a problem,” Perry said. “China’s spying on Americans, we all know that. But this vehicle was very concerning to me. The language was very broad just like the Patriot Act that was passed after 9/11 with good intentions and then turned on the American People. ... I was concerned and am concerned that this would be turned on the American people.”

Perry went on to say he thinks the government should better warn Americans about the vulnerability of their data but added that the ultimate choice should be up to them on what apps to use. “I don’t think the federal government should be a babysitter,” he said.

Perry is a close ally of Trump who recently said he opposed the bill. Trump weighed in shortly after meeting with Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, an investor in TikTok. The former president and presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee warned that banning TikTok would “make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people.”

All other members voted for the bill, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, who acknowledged in a statement, “I know that many in my community enjoy TikTok, and some, in fact, earn their incomes from the platform as well.”

But Houlahan said she saw “real and present threats to individual Americans, to communities, to this democracy, and to our way of life if TikTok data remains within the grasp of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Republican who represents Lancaster, said the legislation would “protect the American people from the CCP and foreign adversaries who seek to harm, manipulate, or control the American people.”

This article contains information from the Associated Press.