By MARY CLARE JALONICK and HALELUYA HADERO (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A law that may ban TikTok in the U.S. unless its Chinese owner sells part of the company has gained more support, after House Republican leaders added it to a group of bills that will provide aid to Ukraine and Israel. The law might become official as early as next week if Congress acts fast.
The TikTok law, which was approved by the House in March and has wide support from both parts of Congress, was added to the House foreign policy package after discussions with the Senate about how long the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. would have to sell its share. to sell its stake for the app to keep running in the United States. President Joe Biden has said he would approve the TikTok law if it is passed to him.
The law was added to the national security package after getting a key approval from Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, who stated that she successfully pushed to extend the time from six months to a year to give the company enough time to find a buyer. While the original law had a six-month deadline for TikTok to be sold, 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 enough time for a new buyer to get a deal done,” said Cantwell, who had previously expressed doubts about the law. ”I support this updated legislation.”
If Congress passes the TikTok law, it would be an unusual and exceptional moment in which both parties come together against one company – something lawmakers are typically hesitant to do. But the popular social media app has caused widespread anger on Capitol Hill, where there is bipartisan worry about Chinese threats to the United States and where few members use the platform themselves.
Opponents believe the ban would be against the constitution, and there would probably be legal challenges if it is approved. The company, content creators who earn money on the app, and some of the app’s 170 million U.S. users, many of whom are young, have strongly opposed the idea. In some cases, lawmakers have received