Staten Island Reporter

Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) expressed her concerns over the potential threat posed by ByteDance, a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in a statement released today. She emphasized the importance of protecting American data from being exploited by foreign adversaries, specifically highlighting the dangers associated with ByteDance's access to the personal information of over 170 million Americans.

Malliotakis stated, "ByteDance’s ability to obtain the data of over 170 million Americans poses a grave danger as it can be used to exploit algorithms to threaten our country’s national security and manipulate our youth." She further added, "We cannot trust China to properly handle the valuable and private data of American citizens."

The congresswoman clarified that the recently passed legislation, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, does not seek to ban TikTok in the United States but aims to prevent foreign adversaries from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating Americans. Malliotakis stressed that the bipartisan support for the legislation sends a strong message to ByteDance and the CCP that American data will not be weaponized against the nation.

In conclusion, Malliotakis affirmed, "We will not allow data to be weaponized against us, and we will take decisive action to protect the privacy and security of our citizens."