Bipartisan bill introduced to better monitor terror threats on foreign mobile apps like TikTok

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence, and Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., introduced a bill to "conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the United States posed by terrorist organizations utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile or desktop messaging applications, and for other purposes."

Pfluger said that cloud-based technology has given "terrorist groups even more tools to use in their pursuit of deadly chaos" more than 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.

“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," he said in a statement.

"Considering the heightened threat landscape created by terrorist organizations around the world, especially as we’ve seen just last October with the devastating terrorist attack in Israel, DHS must take steps to assess and address this threat before it’s too late," Pfluger added.

Panetta said that "advancements in foreign cloud-based messaging" present new challenges in fighting terrorism.

"This bipartisan legislation would ensure the Department of Homeland Security is properly monitoring these vulnerabilities and assessing the threats they pose to our national security," he said. "Better understanding how terrorist networks communicate is essential to stopping future attacks."