Should we develop risk standards and regulate App usage on federally-owned devices?

Awaiting Vote
Bill Summary

The Bolstering America’s Defenses Against Potentially Perilous Software (BAD APPS) Act seeks to develop comprehensive standards for determining the risk of applications developed by foreign nations and with potential malicious intentions. While this bill does not explicitly provide the government with the authority to completely ban any apps in their entirety, it encourages the Department of Defense to inform military personnel and individuals with security clearance of potential risks and potentially regulate the apps’ usage on federally-owned devices. Sponsor: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (Democrat, New Jersey, District 11)
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Opponents say

•      "News and opinion distributed by Chinese propaganda organs are already available in the U.S. Google’s search engine happily points anyone to the English language website of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which also has a Twitter and Facebook account. The Global Times newspaper, which is even more propagandistic than People’s Daily, is available on the web and has 1.8 million followers on Twitter. If this material is a threat on TikTok, why is it not also a threat on Twitter, Google, YouTube, and the open Web? Conversely, if the presence of Chinese propaganda on TikTok is so dangerous as to justify banning it, shouldn't advocates of a ban also push to ban Google searches for CCP materials, ban Twitter, and block all forms of Internet access to state-affiliated media from China?... Ironically, calls to ban… propaganda… lead inexorably to an American version of the Great Firewall of China: an Internet in which the government censors foreign information sources. If nationalistic fears about Chinese influence operations lead to a departure from American constitutional principles supporting free and open political discourse, we will have succeeded in undermining our system of government more effectively than any Chinese propaganda could do." Source: Internet Governance Project 


•      "The banning TikTok strategy also comes while the GOP simultaneously complains of liberal U.S. social media companies canceling and censoring conservatives. So, without a hint of irony, many of these same “conservatives” now agitate to ban a platform owned by an international group that includes several American investors. So, on the one hand, Republicans complain about censorship, while with the other hand, these same Republicans advocate to censor social media apps that they worry are influenced by the Chinese." Source: Sen. Rand Paul (Republican, Kentucky)

Proponents say

•      "It is crucial that our national security professionals and servicemembers have all the pertinent information needed to make smart cyber decisions when they are on the job or at home. That’s why I am proud to introduce the BAD APPS Act, legislation that takes a proactive approach to help the Department of Defense keep track of potentially dangerous cell phone applications. Our servicemembers and civilian defense personnel perform important duties across the globe to keep our country safe. We cannot allow a foreign adversary, company, or individual to compromise our national security by targeting an individual's data through a seemingly innocuous app on their phone." Source: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (Democrat, New Jersey, District 11) 


•      "Our adversaries are flooding app stores with seemingly harmless apps that present a real danger to our national security. The BAD APPS Act will ensure our national security personnel have proper guidance on these evolving threats to make smart decisions. I’m proud to work with Rep. Sherrill to introduce this bill and ensure news, games, and other mobile phone applications do not compromise our defense employee’s movements, sensitive facility locations, or movements of critical national security hardware." Source: Rep. Jack Bergman (Republican, Michigan, District 1)