INTERVIEW | Here's Why TikTok's Days in America May Be Winding Down

Congressional lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday aimed at banning the social media app TikTok nationwide.

“TikTok is digital fentanyl that’s addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news," Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said in a press release. "It’s also an increasingly powerful media company that’s owned by ByteDance, which ultimately reports to the Chinese Communist Party—America’s foremost adversary.” 

Gallagher introduced the legislation with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.

The language of the bill says its goal is to “protect Americans from the threat posed by certain foreign adversaries using current or potential future social media companies that those foreign adversaries control to surveil Americans, learn sensitive data about Americans, or spread influence campaigns, propaganda, and censorship.”

Jake Denton, a research associate in The Heritage Foundation's Tech Policy Center, weighs in on the legislation and its goal in this episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast." (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.)

"This bill is essentially building off the momentum that these state governors have had in the last few weeks we've seen. I believe we're close to almost 10 governors now who have banned [TikTok] from government devices," Denton says. 

"And I think the question for all these Americans is, well, if it's unsafe for these government employees, right, we don't want it on their phones. [So] why is it OK to be on our phones? And more specifically, why is it OK to be on our kids' phones?" Denton asks. 

On the podcast, Denton discusses the legislation to ban TikTok, whether he believes it's likely to become law, and the app's impact on users. 

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