ACLU Condemns House Energy & Commerce Committee Vote on TikTok Ban Bill

WASHINGTON — Only two days after introduction, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to advance a bill that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. The American Civil Liberties Union and its partners wrote a letter just yesterday to the committee outlining the constitutional concerns with the bill. The version passed out of committee today did not address any of those concerns.

Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at ACLU, issued the following statement:

“We are deeply disappointed that the committee chose to ignore the serious First Amendment concerns raised by civil liberties groups and instead voted to advance this bill that would silence over 170 million people around the country who use TikTok every day. As the flood of constituent calls to Congress confirms, TikTok is a vital platform for accessing information and expressing ourselves. When this bill comes to the floor for a vote, we urge representatives to stand up for free speech, and vote down this misguided bill.”