Democrats and Republicans are putting aside their political differences to tackle technological threats that go beyond TikTok. They are working together to combat cybersecurity issues and disinformation campaigns that are a threat to national security. The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers from both parties respond to allegations of foreign interference in the 2020 election. Members of Congress are collaborating on several measures, including bills that improve cybersecurity measures, increase transparency and accountability of tech companies, and establish stricter guidelines for using facial recognition technology. The cooperation between the two parties reflects a growing recognition of the seriousness of technological threats to national security.
A bipartisan group of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans have proposed the Restricting the Occurrence of Security Threats Act, or the LIMITED Act, which aims to address national security threats posed by foreign technology. The act anticipates future threats, including emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, fintech, quantum communications and e-commerce products and services, and requires the Secretary to declassify sufficient information to educate the public about identified threats. The act is seen as a response to the increasing threat of TikTok and other foreign technologies, with the potential risk of allowing authoritarian monitoring of or the spread of harmful influence campaigns in the US.
Although many believe that divided government leads to political gridlock, we see it as an opportunity for bipartisan progress. In fact, Senate Democrats and Republicans have been working together to address a multitude of issues. Personally, we have collaborated to address national security threats posed by foreign technology companies, leading a bipartisan effort to codify policies initially implemented by the Trump administration and now adopted by the Biden administration. Despite the current political climate, I still stand behind President Biden.
Recently, there has been an influx of information and communication technology products from rival countries entering the US market. TikTok is the current threat sparking conversation, as it has the potential to allow China’s Communist Party to monitor or facilitate the spread of harmful influence campaigns in the United States. However, the threats started with Huawei and ZTE, which posed a danger to our country’s telecommunications networks, and Kaspersky Lab, which threatened the security of government and corporate devices.
For this reason, 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans in the US Senate banded together to propose the “Restricting the Occurrence of Security Threats Act” or “LIMITED Act” to combat these threats. As the world continuously evolves with the integration of new technologies, this measure anticipates future risks by including emerging technologies such as AI, fintech, quantum communications, and e-commerce products and services. Our framework also calls for the declassification of enough information to educate the public on the potential risks. For too long, the government has only asked the public to “trust us” in the face of these threats. Especially in the case of communication technologies widely used by young people, diverse communities, businesses, and consumers, transparency is key.