example. They also have the ability on it to get access, they have essentially access to the software to devices. So you're talking about millions of devices and that gives them the ability to engage in different kinds of malicious cyber activity through that. And so all of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn't share our values and that has a mission that's very much at odds with what's in the best interest of the United States that that should concern us. . (2) On December 3, 2022, the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, It is extraordinary the degree to which China, in particular, but they're not the only ones, obviously, are developing just frameworks for collecting foreign data and pulling it in and their capacity to then turn that around and use it to target audiences for information campaigns or for other things, but also to have it for the future so that they can use it for a variety of means that they’re interested in. . (3) On December 16, 2022, the Director of Central Intelligence, Bill Burns, stated, I think it's a genuine concern … for the U.S. government, in the sense that, because the parent company of TikTok is a Chinese company, the Chinese government is able to insist upon extracting the private data of a lot of TikTok users in this country, and also to shape the content of what goes on to TikTok as well to suit the interests of the Chinese leadership … What I would underscore, though, is that it's genuinely troubling to see what the Chinese government could do to manipulate TikTok. . (4) On December 23, 2022, both chambers of Congress passed a bipartisan spending bill that included a ban on using TikTok from government devices. 3. Authorization of appropriations No additional amounts are authorized to be made available to carry out this Act. 4. Severability If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect without