As the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on legislation requiring Chinese owner ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets, two senators expressed hope that the popular short video app would remain in business in the U.S. under new ownership. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner emphasized that lawmakers understand the concerns of the 170 million Americans, especially young people, who use TikTok. He expressed a desire for TikTok to continue under new ownership, whether American or from a different country, as long as it is no longer controlled by an adversary.
There are concerns that China could access Americans’ data or surveil them through TikTok, prompting the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation requiring ByteDance to divest the app within nine months, with a possible three-month extension. If approved by the Senate, President Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign the legislation into law. TikTok has maintained that it would challenge the order in court, arguing that it violates the free speech rights of its users.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell clarified that Congress is not seeking to punish ByteDance or TikTok. Instead, the goal is to prevent foreign adversaries from engaging in espionage, surveillance, or other malicious activities that could harm Americans. Cantwell believes that the timeline for divestment is reasonable and gives people a choice to improve the platform. However, Democratic Senator Ed Markey expressed skepticism about ByteDance’s ability to execute a divestment that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. He suggested that the legislation could effectively amount to a TikTok ban, warning against censorship and emphasizing the need to consider the trade-offs involved.