H.R. 7521 Regulation of TikTok: Analysis of Selected Legal Issues

On March 13, 2024, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (H.R. 7521). If enacted, H.R. 7521 would make it unlawful to provide certain services to “distribute, maintain, or update . . . a foreign adversary controlled application” within the United States.

The bill expressly includes applications operated by TikTok or its parent company ByteDance, Ltd. in the definition of “foreign adversary controlled application.” This Legal Sidebar summarizes the substantive provisions in H.R. 7521, analyzes the bill’s provisions related to enforcement and judicial review, and addresses potential constitutional considerations related to the bill, focusing on questions that have been raised regarding application of the Bill of Attainder Clause and the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.