PITTSBURGH (TNS) — The state House on Monday advanced a bill that would ban the Chinese-owned video app TikTok from state-owned devices, but expanded its wording to cover not just TikTok but any app controlled by a “foreign adversary.”
More than 30 states already have banned the placement on state devices of TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. In Pennsylvania, the bill calling for a ban — only affecting state devices, and not those used by the general public — was introduced by Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, and was approved unanimously in the Senate more than a year ago.
On Monday, the House considered the bill for a second time, with three considerations required for final approval. But an amendment introduced by Rep. Nick Pisciottano, D-Allegheny, replaced the bill’s text with new wording that made it more broad.
The vote on the amendment was 139-62. All but two Democrats — Reps. Arvind Venkat of Allegheny County and Tarik Khan of Philadelphia — voted for it. More than half of the 100 Republicans in the chamber voted against it.
“There are a lot bigger issues” concerning foreign meddling that the state should be dealing with, said Rep. Dawn Keefer, a York County Republican who was one of the “no” votes. Among them, she said, is stopping Chinese owners from buying large tracts of farmland in the U.S.
Should the amended bill pass the House on third consideration, the Senate would then have to approve the changes. On Monday, Ms. Phillips-Hill said she supported the new version.
“I am hopeful the House passes this legislation to safeguard state-owned devices and networks from foreign adversaries. The very real threat TikTok poses is no secret, and the concern of its impact on our cybersecurity is bipartisan,” she said.
State Rep. Rob Mercuri, an Allegheny County Republican who is running for Congress, voted in favor of the changes. He told House members on the floor that he withdrew his own proposed amendments after working with Mr. Pisciottano on his version.
In an interview shortly after the House session ended, Mr. Mercuri said the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is a key factor in the reworded bill.
“We broadened the ban on TikTok to include any entity that is flagged as inappropriate or under investigation by CFIUS,” Mr. Mercuri said. “I feel that it is important to protect, at this point, government devices and networks from any nefarious influences.”
Another Allegheny County Republican who voted for the amendment, Rep. Eric Nelson, said, “The broader language gives us the ability to better address issues from nations that may not be friendly to the U.S.”
At the federal level, the U.S. House passed a bill in a 352-65 vote a few weeks ago that would compel ByteDance to sell the company or face a nationwide ban on the app. President Joe Biden has said of the federal bill, “If they pass it, I’ll sign it.”
