WASHINGTON — Legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake got a big boost late Wednesday when House Republican leaders included it in a package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel. The bill could become law as soon as next week if Congress acts quickly.
The TikTok legislation, which passed the House in March and has broad support in both chambers, was included in the House foreign policy package after negotiations with the Senate over how long Chinese tech company ByteDance Ltd. would have to sell its stake in the app. to remain active in the United States. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the TikTok legislation if it reaches his desk.
The House legislation also received key approval Wednesday from Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, who said in a statement that she had successfully pushed to extend the period from six months to a year to keep the company enough time to find a buyer. While the original legislation had a six-month deadline for the sale of TikTok, the new House bill would give nine months and a possible three-month extension if a sale was in progress.
“Extending the divestment period is necessary to ensure there is sufficient time for a new buyer to complete a deal,” said Cantwell, who had previously expressed doubts about the bill. “I support this updated legislation.”
If Congress passes the TitkTok legislation, it would be an extraordinary and unusual moment for both parties to unite against one company — something lawmakers are usually reluctant to do. But the popular social media app has sparked widespread outrage on Capitol Hill, where there are bipartisan concerns about Chinese threats to the United States and few members use the platform themselves.
Opponents say they believe the ban would be unconstitutional. Since the House of Representatives passed the legislation last month, there has been aggressive pushback from the company, the content creators who make money from the app and some of the platform’s 170 million U.S. users, many of whom are young . In some cases, lawmakers have received profanity-laced calls from users asked by the app to call their representatives in Congress.
To date, the U.S. government has provided no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government, or that Chinese authorities have tinkered with the company’s popular algorithm, which affects what Americans see.
According to AdImpact, an ad tracking company, the company has spent $5 million on TV ads opposing the legislation since mid-March. The ads feature several content creators, including a nun, praising the platform’s positive impact on their lives and arguing that a ban would trample on the First Amendment.
TikTok, which declined to comment on how much it is spending on TV ads, has also spent money on Facebook and Instagram ads that include talks about investing in data security. The company has also launched a lobbying campaign in Washington, flying in content creators who rely on the platform for revenue.
Alex Haurek, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement Thursday: “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian aid to once again thwart a ban bill that would trample on freedom of expression. 170 million Americans are destroying 7 million businesses and shutting down a platform that contributes $24 billion annually to the US economy.”
Passing the bill would be the most significant step Congress has taken in decades to regulate the tech industry. For years, Congress has failed to act on bills that would, among other things, protect user privacy, protect children from online threats, make companies more accountable for their content and place loose guardrails around artificial intelligence.
Still, it’s a limited shot at one company, while many lawmakers would like to see broader changes. A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill in the Senate to protect children online, and Cantwell recently struck a deal with Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, on legislation to protect the privacy of US data.
While most lawmakers support the TikTok bill, some say it would set a dangerous precedent.
“The passage of the House TikTok ban is not just a misguided overreach; it is a draconian measure that stifles free speech, tramples constitutional rights, and disrupts the economic pursuits of millions of Americans,” Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X after the House passed it.
Others defend the app’s loyal users.
“I am a NO on the TikTok bill we are about to vote on,” Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost posted on X before the vote in the House of Representatives. At 27, Frost is much younger than most of his peers.
“I believe the bill will ensure TikTok is banned,” Frost said. “There are First Amendment issues that I see in taking away a platform used by more than 170 million Americans, and this will not solve the serious problems we have with data. privacy.”