Senate Progress Slows on TikTok Bill Amid Uncertainty and Lobbying
After a swift passage through the House, a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the app or face a nationwide ban is facing a slowdown in the Senate. Senator Chuck Schumer has not yet decided whether to bring the bill to the floor, leaving Senators with their own versions of bills targeting TikTok to be convinced.
The House bill, which passed with a vote of 352 to 65, mandates that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sell its stake in the app within six months or face a ban. Senator Richard Blumenthal noted bipartisan support for removing the app from Chinese ownership, but adjustments may need to be made to the bill to suit the Senate.
The uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s fate in the United States could lead to weeks or even months of lobbying and maneuvering by various parties, including the White House, the Chinese government, and ByteDance. TikTok creators and its 170 million U.S. users are left in limbo as potential deals and discussions loom.
TikTok has launched a campaign urging users to contact their senators to express the app’s importance. The company has also invested over $1 billion in Project Texas, a plan to handle sensitive U.S. user data separately and provide oversight to monitor for manipulation.
While some senators have expressed support for the bill, others are more cautious, raising concerns about the six-month deadline for a sale deal and the potential impact on civil liberties. Senator Maria Cantwell, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, will play a key role in determining the bill’s fate in the Senate.
As the Senate deliberates on the TikTok bill, the future of the popular app in the U.S. remains uncertain, with lobbying efforts and discussions likely to continue in the coming weeks.
