Steve Marshall signs onto U.S. TikTok ban: ‘A threat to national security’

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August 6, 2024

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall backed a ban on TikTok in the United States if the apps Chinese owners don’t sell the company.

Marshall joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general Monday in asking the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to uphold the national TikTok divest-or-ban legislation passed by Congress earlier this year.

“TikTok is a threat to national security and consumer privacy as the company collects user data that is then accessible to a foreign adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, creating both privacy and security concerns for America,” Marshall’s office said in a press release.

The TikTok ban legislation passed earlier this year by a vote in the House of 352-65 with only one member of the Alabama congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), voting against the measure.

The federal law bans TikTok in the United States if Chinese-owned ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, does not sell its stake in the platform. ByteDance and TikTok sued the federal government following the ban.

“All users of TikTok must understand that every click, location, and recording is used as intelligence that we have ample reason to believe is available to the Chinese Communist Party. Americans asked for Congress to take action against this intrusion by a top foreign adversary, and Congress acted,” Marshall said. “We are urging the courts to uphold the lower court’s decision and enforce this critical national security law.”

The coalition’s brief is urging the court to deny TikTok’s petition as it is within Congress’s power to act on matters of national security and foreign affairs.

“TikTok is a valuable tool for conducting corporate and international espionage, and it may allow the Chinese Communist Party to track the real-time locations of public officials, journalists, and other individuals adverse to the Chinese Communist Party’s interests,” the attorneys generals stated in the brief.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

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