Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) introduced legislation on Tuesday to require regular reviews of how terrorist groups utilize foreign platforms such as Telegram and TikTok to promote their objectives.
Pfluger, who serves as chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence, said in a statement that “more than 20 years after 9/11, the advent of cloud-based technology has given terrorist groups even more tools to use in their pursuit of deadly chaos.”
He stated that “foreign-controlled apps like TikTok and encrypted messaging platforms like Telegram have shined a disturbing light on the lengths America’s enemies will go to attack our way of life and radicalize young minds with violent extremist ideology, as well as the terrifying potency of their grotesque messages when disseminated on platforms with almost unlimited reach.”
Panetta labeled the technology “new challenges in our work countering terrorism” and said the bill would ensure that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is “properly monitoring these vulnerabilities and assessing the threats they pose to our national security.”
