Powerful senator crafts TikTok crackdown
WASHINGTON—Sen. Maria Cantwell said she wants to end China’s control of TikTok. She also wants such legislation to hold up in court.
But what that bill looks like, and how quickly it could get to President Biden’s desk, remain in play, the powerful Democrat said in an interview. The House overwhelmingly passed a measure last month that would force the short-video app to find a new owner that isn’t a foreign adversary within six months or be banned in the U.S. That put the bill in the lap of Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, who has a deep experience with technology issues but has also sparked frustration among colleagues for how she handled past efforts regarding user privacy and social media.
Now, TikTok’s allies and critics alike see Cantwell as critical to the app’s fate. The 65-year-old, four-term senator from Washington state is known for deliberate, time-consuming work, and she and other leaders have kept their plans close to the vest. Cantwell faces pressure to move relatively quickly on any changes to the bill, amid worries that the legislation that sailed through the House could get bogged down in the Senate.
In an interview in her Senate office, Cantwell laid out the questions facing her. “Do we want a tool by which the United States can stop bad actors from broadcasting, if you will, into the United States with nefarious messages? And the answer is yes, we want that tool to exist," she said. “And so now the question is: Is the House tool good enough, or do we need to make some changes to it?" Asked on timing for a vote, Cantwell said she wanted to see it “sooner as opposed to later, because I don’t think it’s going to go away." The bill must get to Biden’s desk this year, or it will expire,
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