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Efforts in the US Congress to force TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest the app have gained momentum after House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled legislation aimed at helping send aid to the Ukraine, which could force the Senate to act on this measure.
The Republican president said the House would vote on separate funding bills – for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – as well as another bill including measures to confront China, Russia and Iran . It would contain language on the popular video-sharing platform that is nearly identical to a previous measure that easily passed the House last month but languished in the Senate.
Assuming the House approves the bills in a vote Saturday, they would be consolidated into one package and sent to the Senate, according to people familiar with the plan. This would significantly increase the chances that the Senate will pass the measure, since many senators will be reluctant to sabotage Ukraine’s military funding.
President Joe Biden supported the plan. “The House is expected to pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow,” he said Wednesday. “I will immediately sign this law to send a message to the world: we stand with our friends and we will not let Iran or Russia succeed.”
In March, the House overwhelmingly approved a bill to force ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to divest within 180 days or the app stores would be barred from selling it. distribute the video sharing platform. The move follows classified briefings from US national security officials who warned that China could have access to Americans’ personal data held on the app.
The Senate has been slower to consider the measure, in part because it is acting more deliberately than the House. Some lawmakers are also concerned about whether it violates the constitutional right to free speech.
People briefed on the TikTok bill said the only change from the previous measure was that it gave the president the option to grant ByteDance a one-time six-month extension.
If the Senate passes the bill in the coming days, ByteDance would have to divest TikTok before the US presidential election in November. If Biden extended the deadline, it would be pushed into the next administration.
TikTok denies that the Chinese government has any control over the app or the ability to access user data. He asserts that any action by Congress that would result in a possible ban infringes on the right to free speech. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A congressional aide said Maria Cantwell — the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which would normally have jurisdiction over the bill — suggested giving ByteDance a year to divest. The option to extend the surrender deadline would help satisfy his request and likely reduce opposition in the Senate.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, has previously warned of a national security threat from TikTok, but has not clarified his position since the bill passed the House. Mike Pence, the former Republican vice president, recently launched a $2 million ad campaign to pressure Schumer to support the House bill.
Jacob Helberg, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said senators were looking into the TikTok issue and “quickly coming to the same conclusion as their House colleagues.”
“The House of Representatives tends to accurately reflect public opinion,” he said. “The House vote on the TikTok bill makes it clear that the public overwhelmingly supports a divestment. The Senate takes note.
While Biden has supported efforts to remove TikTok from Chinese ownership, his re-election campaign is using the app, which has been downloaded by 170 million Americans, to help him connect with young voters.
