Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Thursday that the social media platform TikTok is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party.
Joining "Spicer & Co.," Cammack acknowledged concerns over the bipartisan Restrict Act's language but reiterated her support for limiting the ability of foreign technology to spy on U.S. citizens.
"I think it's absolutely a valid concern," she said of the bill. "I've seen some of the language that kind of gives me a Patriot Act 2.0 vibe. And that's certainly the wrong direction that we should not go down."
However, the congresswoman stressed, "what we need to do is be cognizant that TikTok is not a private enterprise.
"It is a wholly owned subsidiary of ByteDance, which is controlled by the CCP," Cammack explained. "TikTok is an extension of the CCP. We need to say that on repeat over and over and over again."
Cammack said that the "hard work" the House Republican majority has ahead of them is to propose adjustments to the Restrict Act that provide less discretion to the Commerce Department to access data.
"I think this will be bipartisan. I think we can surgically go in there and, without growing the size of government, we can actually protect our First Amendment rights while also protecting the national security aspects of this."
Her comments arrive after concerns with the Restrict Act received attention Wednesday on Fox News, with host Jesse Watters pressing Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for sponsoring the legislation.
"The federal government wants to watch anything you do on the internet. And I mean anything: any transaction, any search, any click, any scroll," Watters stated. "The government can just say, 'Jesse may be involved with the Chinese. Let's take a look at his computer and iPhone.'"
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