Washington— Senator Maria Cantwell, a crucial figure who has delayed the passing of legislation regulating TikTok, has now given her endorsement to the House's most recent version of a measure that could potentially result in a ban of the social media app in the United States.
Senator Cantwell, a Democrat representing Washington, declared her support on Wednesday for an updated measure that would compel TikTok's Chinese parent company to divest from the immensely popular short-form video platform within a year.
This legislation is part of House Speaker Mike Johnson's comprehensive foreign aid package, which also includes provisions for wartime aid to Ukraine and Israel. The revised version extends the initial six-month period given to ByteDance to sell its ownership in the company or risk losing access to app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S. to nine months, with the potential for a three-month extension.
Senator Cantwell, who leads the Senate Commerce Committee, had previously opposed the original version of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which passed through the House with bipartisan support in March but encountered obstacles in the Senate due to various concerns. By adjusting the divestment deadline, at least one of those concerns has been addressed.
"I am delighted that Speaker Johnson and House leaders have taken my suggestion to extend the ByteDance divestment period from six months to a year," Cantwell expressed in a statement. "Extending the divestment period is crucial to ensure that there is ample time for a new buyer to finalize a deal. I fully endorse the updated legislation."
A representative for Cantwell has not yet responded to inquiries regarding whether the senator's other concerns have been taken into account in the revised bill, such as its potential to withstand legal challenges.
With Cantwell's support, one obstacle that previous TikTok-related proposals struggled with has been overcome. Nonetheless, some legislators have raised doubts about the bill's constitutionality, suggesting that additional issues may arise.
The updated bill, included in the proposal put forth by Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, earlier this week, combines the mandated TikTok divestment with fresh sanctions targeting Iran, China, and Russia. The trio of remaining bills allocates $26 billion to assist Israel, $61 billion to reinforce Ukraine, and $8 billion to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.
