California congressman warns of ‘nips and tucks’ to First Amendment with Tik Tok ban

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CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN WARNS OF ‘NIPS AND TUCKS’ TO THE FIRST AMENDMENT

A California congressman is sounding the First Amendment alarm, after the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to ban the social media app Tik Tok unless the company sheds its Beijing-based owner ByteDance.

Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, was one of just two California Republicans to vote against the bill, which passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support.

“I think we need to be very, very careful, making small nips and tucks on the First Amendment,” he told The Bee in an interview.

Duarte said that he thought long and hard about the bill, looked at the debate over the issue, attended a top secret congressional briefing on the topic, and ultimately arrived at the decision that the bill just did not meet his standard for a yes vote.

“You’re talking about freedom of speech issues,” he said.

He said that he was opposed to singling out a single company, like ByteDance, just because some people disagreed with the speech on their platform.

“Tik Tok is a forum where many Americans exercise their freedom of speech,” he said.

The bill still has to make it through the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

“The Senate will review the legislation when it comes over from the House,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement.

THE LATEST ON CALIFORNIA’S CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

Via Gillian Brassil...

The Associated Press has projected which Sacramento and Fresno area congressional candidates will advance from the March 5 primary. Here’s where results stood as of 2 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday in races with more than two candidates: The top two vote-getters regardless of party in California primary elections move on to the Nov. 5 general election.

California’s 1st Congressional District: Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, and Democrat Rose Penelope Yee, a financial advisor, will advance. With 80% of the votes counted, LaMalfa had 66.3% and Yee had 23%. A Democrat took the remaining votes.

California’s 3rd Congressional District: Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, and Democrat Jessica Morse, a wildfire resiliency specialist, will advance. With 81% of the votes counted, Kiley had 54.8% and Morse had 43.2%. A no-party-preference contender took the remaining votes.

California’s 4th Congressional District: Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Republican John Munn, a farmer and rancher, will advance. With 79% of the votes counted, Thompson had 62.8% and Munn had 30.7%. A Democrat and a no-party-preference contender took the remaining votes.

California’s 5th Congressional District: Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, and Democrat Mike Barkley, a lawyer, will advance. With 88% of the votes counted, McClintock had 58.6% and Barkley had 32.8%. A no-party-preference contender took the remaining votes.

California’s 6th Congressional District: Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, and Republican Christine Bish, a realtor, will advance. With 72% of the votes counted, Bera had 52.8% and Bish had 19.9%. Four contenders from various parties took the remaining votes.

California’s 7th Congressional District: Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, and Republican Tom Silva, a veterans program coordinator, will advance. With 74% of the votes counted, Matsui had 57.5% and Silva had 31.4%. A Democrat took the remaining votes.

California’s 9th Congressional District: Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, and Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, a Republican, will advance. With 70% of the votes counted, Harder had 52.7% and Lincoln had 28.5%. Two Republicans took the remaining votes.

California’s 13th Congressional District: Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, and former Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, advanced in an uncontested race. It is a November toss-up, analysts say.

California’s 20th Congressional District: Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, a Republican, will advance. With 92% of the votes counted, Fong had 41.3% and Boudreaux had 24.8%. Nine contenders from various parties took the remaining votes. There’s a special election here too; the primary is March 19.

California’s 21st Congressional District: Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Republican Michael Maher, an aviation business owner, advanced in an uncontested race.

California’s 22nd Congressional District: Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, and former Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, will advance. With 97% of the votes counted, Valadao had 33% and Salas had 30.6%. A Republican and a Democrat took the remaining votes. It is a November toss-up, analysts say.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This is not an attempt to ban TikTok. It’s an attempt to make TikTok better. Tic-tac-toe, a winner. A winner.”

- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, defending the House bill that would ban Tik Tok unless the company sheds its Chinese ownership.

Best of The Bee:

• On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 to ban the social media app TikTok in the U.S. unless its parent company — Beijing-based ByteDance — agrees to sell it, via Andrew Sheeler.

• California lawmakers and labor leaders are calling for change within the state’s workplace safety agency following a four-month Sacramento Bee investigation into the organization’s hiring practices, via Maya Miller.

• California’s economy should grow somewhat faster than the nation’s, though its unemployment rate will remain above the national average, a new forecast by the UCLA Anderson School said Wednesday, via David Lightman.

• Sacramento and cities across California caught a break from the state’s water regulator this week after the agency faced criticism that its water conservation rules were too complicated and costly to meet, via Ari Plachta.

• More than a quarter of homeless Californians are Black, nearly four times the state’s Black population, according to a report that details the crisis of homelessness among the minority group, via Darrell Smith.