NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger told News Channel 11 on Monday that a bill by Tennessee state lawmakers to ban Chinese-based social media platforms on college campus networks has her full backing.
The Tennessee Senate and House passed legislation in March that would prohibit the use of those platforms, like TikTok, on state college and university networks. The legislation includes exceptions for security and investigative measures. People on campuses would still be permitted to access those platforms using cellular data.
The Tennessee House passed the legislation on Thursday, several weeks after the Senate passed the measure. If signed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, the bill would become law.
Harshbarger sits on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which addressed the CEO of TikTok last week in a national hearing. Harshbarger described TikTok as a “Trojan Horse” of the Chinese Communist Party in her response to a News Channel 11 inquiry.
“I applaud the Tennessee Senate for taking our national security seriously and voting to ban TikTok on our college and university networks. TikTok is a Trojan Horse used by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on over 150 million Americans, many of whom are students. China is openly infiltrating our higher ed institutions, and I fully support the passage of this bill.”
Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (TN-01)
During the committee’s hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Harshbarger claimed the reason for there being different versions of the app in the U.S. and China was due to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance prioritizing China. She also referred to what she described as “destructive comments” on the app, which she said posed a danger to American youths.
Political leaders from both parties have backed legislation that could lead to a potential ban of the app at a federal level.
