US Senate not moving to fast-track House bill for TikTok divestiture
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A number of U.S. senators want the chamber to take its time in deciding whether to back a House of Representatives bill that would force Chinese-based ByteDance to divest short video app TikTok within six months or face a ban.
The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday, just eight days after the proposal was introduced. There is broad support in the Senate for taking action to address national security threats from foreign apps like TikTok but no agreement on the right approach.
Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said in an interview with Reuters she wants legislation to address broad concerns about foreign apps that will hold up in court and is not sure the House bill goes far enough.
«We'll probably have a better idea in a week what we think the options are,» Cantwell said. «Of course we want to the strongest possible tool and we want it to be the most robust tool we can get.» Cantwell said she has thought about holding hearings.
Senator Ron Wyden, a leading Democrat on tech issues, said he is still reviewing the House bill and has «serious concerns about any app that gives the Chinese government access to Americans' private data. I'll also say this: history teaches us that when lawmakers rush to legislate on tech and social media, mistakes get made.»
Senator Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, told Bloomberg News the bill should be open to a «full amendment process,» which could significantly delay any action.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said only the Senate will review the legislation — and gave no timeline for action.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was on Capitol Hill for a second day of meetings with senators on Thursday. He said in a video
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