Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This story is a paid political advertisement for John Curtis for Utah.
Utah Rep. John Curtis is committed to protecting human rights, and the safety and personal freedoms of all Americans. Recent legislation that he's put forth is designed to curb support of unethical Chinese business practices and to keep your data out of the hands of the Chinese government.
Curtis is dedicated to supporting ethical business practices, and is pushing back on forced labor companies. He's working to keep your private data and online information secure. And is protecting your ideas, copyrights and trademarks. He's doing it by holding businesses operating out of China accountable in the following ways.
Protecting American data
Recently, a U.S. House committee advanced a bipartisan bill to ban the social media app TikTok from U.S. app stores unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells it. Curtis, who supports the bill, told the Deseret News that it's not about banning TikTok; it's about protecting American data.
"TikTok is owned by a company that China's government controls, and that is a big problem for data security and national security," Curtis said in a recent press release. "Through Congressional investigations, including [TikTok's] CEO testifying himself in the Energy and Commerce Committee, it has become clear this structure is unsustainable."
As an example, Curtis cited the fact that TikTok could send a notice to users to input their zip code to call their congressional representative.
"That's fine if that is a private entity, but it's not acceptable if it is a foreign entity," Curtis told the Deseret News.
Influencing young, impressionable Americans — and potentially interfering with an election through misleading information is not something Curtis believes the Chinese government should be allowed to do. He doesn't want to get rid of the app; He just doesn't want China to gain access to your data.
Sponsoring legislation to ban advertising of forced labor products
You may remember a company called Temu running several ads during the Super Bowl that invited you to "shop like a billionaire." But what you might not realize is that this company may be concealing a darker side.
In a June 2023 article for the Associated Press, Haleluya Hadero wrote, "A Congressional report published Thursday offered a blistering critique of popular Chinese retailers Shein and Temu, with lawmakers accusing the latter of failing to maintain 'even the façade of a meaningful compliance program that seeks to prevent goods made by forced labor from being sold on its platform."
Shocked that such a company would be running ads on TV at all, let alone the Super Bowl, John Curtis responded by introducing a bill called the No Forced Labor on TV Act.
As John Curtis' office explained in a Feb. 16 press release, "The No Forced Labor on TV Act defines the advertising of forced labor products as a deceptive practice and prohibits their advertisement on TV from China."
Punishing Chinese intellectual property theft
Forced labor isn't the only issue stemming from Temu and other Chinese companies.
According to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, "Theft of American intellectual property (IP) is a principal irritant in the U.S.-China trade relationship. China leverages its entire legal and regulatory system to coerce technology transfer or steal IP."
Learning that Temu and other websites were making copycat products of American items prompted Curtis to introduce the Combatting China's Pilfering of Intellectual Property Act.
"The CCP IP Act directly punishes those who steal American IP and broadly puts pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to stop their intentional strategy of stealing from everyday Americans," Curtis said.
Responding to calls for his arrest in Hong Kong
You likely won't find John Curtis in China anytime soon. That's because his work to hold Chinese businesses accountable for their actions has made him extremely unpopular. Some have even called for his arrest should he enter the country.
"I have watched the last few years as freedoms in Hong Kong have been dismantled," Curtis said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) in November. "Now, pro-CCP (Chinese Communist Party) lawmakers are calling for the citizen arrests of me and my Congressional colleagues for shining a light on the deterioration of rights."
Part of the outrage against Curtis stems from his introduction of the Hong Kong Business Integrity and Transparency Act. This bill, which he and a few other colleagues supported, would require President Joe Biden to implement sanctions on the listed Hong Kong officials if they violated human rights law.
But Curtis isn't phased by the calls for his arrest.
"I have a message for those who would try to silence my calls for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong," Curtis continued. "I will not be bullied or silenced. Your catcalls from 8,000 miles away will only reinforce my resolve to fight for freedom in Hong Kong, Ukraine, Israel, and wherever else it is challenged."
Why John Curtis is running for the U.S. Senate
John Curtis's tough stance on China and determination to hold them accountable is a leadership style that has proven to get things done in Washington. After representing Utah's 3rd Congressional District for three terms, Curtis is now focused on winning the upcoming election to represent the entire state in the U.S. Senate. He'll continue to fight to ensure that all Utahns — and U.S. citizens at large — have a voice in the Senate if he wins. He'll continue to hold China accountable and to produce effective solutions that benefit all Americans.
You can find out more about his campaign to become Utah's next U.S. senator by visiting johncurtis.org.
