The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has voiced strong opposition against a proposed legislative measure in the United States House of Representatives. This measure seeks to compel ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular short video platform TikTok, to divest its ownership of the app or face the possibility of a ban within the United States. The critique comes in anticipation of a vote on this bipartisan bill by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, scheduled for Thursday. Proponents of the bill argue that the action is necessitated by concerns over national security.
Expressing frustration over the proposed legislation, Jenna Leventoff, who serves as the senior policy counsel at the ACLU, criticized the initiative as an unfortunate attempt by political leaders to sacrifice fundamental First Amendment rights in pursuit of political advantage, particularly in the context of an election year. This stance by the ACLU highlights a deep concern over the potential erosion of free speech rights and the impact of political motives on legislative actions aimed at foreign-owned technology companies operating within the U.S.