THE effort to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership of the social media platform would quickly become law under a plan outlined on Wednesday (Apr 17) by House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Johnson intends to include the divest-or-ban bill in a package of fast-moving bills that include aid for Ukraine and Israel. The House is expected to pass the bills on Saturday, and the Senate is expected to quickly consider the legislation.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington said in a brief interview she has proposed changes to a TikTok bill that the House passed last month to help ensure it survives a legal challenge. Her suggestions include giving ByteDance up to a year to divest itself of the social media platform – longer than the six-month time frame in the House measure.
It is not yet clear whether the House has incorporated Cantwell’s suggestions, or whether she would seek changes on the Senate floor.
Shares of Snap, a key TikTok competitor, jumped as much as 10 per cent on Wednesday, their biggest intraday surge since October 2023.
The House-passed TikTok legislation has support from data privacy and national security hawks concerned about troves of data on American users potentially being made available to a Chinese company. President Joe Biden has said that if the bill comes to his desk, he will sign it.
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Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Even so, the measure has faced opposition in the Senate from both parties. Its inclusion in the foreign aid package may get it through the Senate with limited debate.
Some opponents say the House-passed measure impedes Americans’ right to free speech and risks harm the growing number of entrepreneurs, business owners, and influencers who rely on the app to make a living.
Others, such as Cantwell, have expressed concern about court challenges regarding a law singling out one company. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, has predicted it would be struck down. BLOOMBERG
