Why a potential TikTok ban is alive again in Congress, and what’s next

Why a potential TikTok ban is alive again in Congress, and what’s next

Federal lawmakers are again taking up legislation to force video-sharing app TikTok to be sold or banned in the United States over national security concerns.

This time, it may have an easier path to the president’s desk.

Republican House leaders this week unveiled an unconventional plan to tuck the TikTok crackdown into a series of foreign aid packages slated for a Saturday vote. The tactic could fast-track the proposal, maneuvering the stand-alone bill that has stalled in the Senate.

Lawmakers have scrutinized the popular short-form video app over allegations that its links to China pose a risk to Americans’ personal data, but past attempts to ban or restrict it have run into major constitutional concerns that the efforts would infringe on the free-speech rights of its millions of U.S. users.

Here’s what to know about the plan:

Wait, didn’t the House pass this already?

Yes. Last month, the House voted 352-65 to approve legislation requiring that TikTok either be sold off from ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent company, or face a national ban.

The measure — called the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or H.R. 7521 — would give apps deemed to be “controlled” by rival foreign powers 180 days to divest or face a prohibition. The bill explicitly designates TikTok and other platforms owned by ByteDance as “foreign adversary controlled applications” and would create a mechanism by which the president could target additional apps in the future.

House lawmakers swiftly and overwhelmingly passed the bill, led by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), just over a week after it was introduced. That kicked the measure over to the Senate, where members have yet to formally take it up.

Why are lawmakers now tying TikTok to foreign aid?

Because it speeds up the process. House lawmakers initially passed the TikTok crackdown as a stand-alone bill, but it needs to pass in the Senate, where leadership would need to either move it through a key committee or call it up on the floor for a vote.

At least one member, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), has already indicated he would block calling the bill to the floor under unanimous consent. Senate leaders probably would need to dedicate a significant amount of time in committee or on the floor to debate the TikTok bill. That could prove difficult ahead of the 2024 elections.

To bypass those constraints, House lawmakers are attaching the TikTok legislation to a package of funding bills they were already slated to consider, to send aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Those efforts have bipartisan backing on Capitol Hill and the support of the White House, which could expedite efforts to get a deal on TikTok done as well.

The new bill, called the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, or H.R. 8038, would allow the president to level new sanctions against Russia and Iran in addition to the TikTok provisions.

“This legislation is a first step in protecting Americans against foreign subversive data collection,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), who previously led a congressional effort to target TikTok, said during a committee hearing on Thursday.

“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a statement posted online Wednesday.

When could TikTok face a ban?

Congress would first need to pass the aid package.

While House lawmakers are expected to vote on the bills Saturday, it’s unclear when the Senate might take it up. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he is monitoring the House’s foreign aid bills — which closely resemble a prior Senate package. (Schumer spokespeople did not return requests for comment on the TikTok provision.)

The bill gives TikTok just under a year to divest from ByteDance. While the original House bill gave TikTok 180 days to be sold, the version included in the aid package gives the company 270 days and allows the president to extend by an additional 90 if “significant progress” has been made toward a divestiture.

At that point, if ByteDance refuses to sell, mobile app stores and web-hosting services would be prohibited from offering TikTok to the public — effectively banning the app from the United States.

Is the TikTok bill more likely to become law now?

It appears so. The TikTok proposal already had broad bipartisan support in the House, and President Biden said last month he would sign it into law if it came to his desk. The only outstanding question was whether enough of the Senate would rally behind the push.

After the House quickly passed its TikTok crackdown, many senators struck a cautious tone, urging colleagues not to rush through consideration of the issue. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), whose committee has jurisdiction over the TikTok bill, expressed concern that the proposal would not survive legal challenges and floated first holding a hearing on the topic.

But in a notable shift, Cantwell announced in a statement Wednesday that she supports the updated TikTok legislation now that it gives the company additional time to divest. Cantwell had previously cast doubt on its prospects for passage, creating a major roadblock for the effort.

“As I’ve said, extending the divestment period is necessary to ensure there is enough time for a new buyer to get a deal done,” said Cantwell, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.

Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), another key voice in the TikTok debate as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement Thursday he supports the House’s inclusion of the TikTok crackdown in their foreign aid package.

“I’m glad to see the House help push this important bill forward to force Beijing-based ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok,” Warner told The Washington Post in a statement. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the Intelligence Committee’s vice chairman, also supports the maneuver, a spokesman confirmed in an email.

A number of senators on both sides of the aisle have previously called for the chamber to take up the bill ahead of the 2024 elections. This may now become their most viable path to do so.