Senate lawmakers are reportedly set to push for changes to the recently passed House bill that would force a sale of China-owned TikTok – organising a debate that would delay the closely-watched laws.
As The Post has reported, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is under major pressure to carry a vote on the bill, which passed the House by overwhelming majority last month. Proponents say TikTok is a possible spying and propaganda tool for the Chinese government.
While the controversy within the Senate is anticipated to choose up steam as Congress returns from its Easter recess, an absence of progress within the upper chamber up to now has frustrated the bill’s supporters, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Meanwhile, TikTok has launched a serious PR campaign to rally its users against a possible ban, including TV ads in key battleground states.
TikTok has launched a PR offensive to rally support against the bill. ZUMAPRESS.com
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, is reportedly expected to spearhead the talks on potential changes, though her specific plans are unclear. The Journal said some Republicans fear that significant tweaks could hurt the bill’s prospects.
The Senate could resolve to increase the period of time that ByteDance would need to divest its stake in TikTok, the report said. The House version would force TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the video-sharing app inside six months or be banned within the US – a timeline that the corporate has argued is just too tight.
Some senators reportedly need to revise the bill’s language to make it tougher to challenge in court. Others are mulling whether to attempt to expand its scope to tackle other concerns related to social media apps.
Schumer has yet to publicly take a stance on the TikTok bill or signal when a vote could occur. Cantwell reportedly desires to hold no less than one hearing on the laws, Senate aides told the Journal.
Cantwell’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Even when the Senate eventually holds a vote and passes its version of the bill, the House would want to approve the revised version.
At present, it stays unclear if the TikTok proposal has enough support to pass the Senate. Some lawmakers, akin to Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, have raised concerns concerning the bill on free-speech grounds.
Sen. Maria Cantwell is reportedly expected to guide the push for changes to the bill. AP
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) told the Journal that he has “loads of concerns about targeting one company for violating standards that other apps and social-media firms have done as well.”
Meanwhile, the bill has drawn support from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence leaders Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), who said in a joint statement last month that they “sit up for working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.”
As well as, Sens. Richard Blumental (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have called on the Biden administration to declassify information that lawmakers were provided last month concerning the potential national security risks posed by TikTok.
“As Congress and the Administration consider steps to deal with TikTok’s ties to the Chinese government, it’s critically vital that the American people, especially TikTok users, understand the national security issues at stake,” the pair said in a joint statement on March 21.
