TikTok creators gather before a press conference to express their opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” that calls for a crackdown in the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States, March 12, 2024 against TikTok is waiting.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
White House national security adviser John Kirby said Sunday that the Senate should quickly advance a bill that would force Chinese tech company ByteDance to sell TikTok. The bill passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support.
“We are pleased that the House of Representatives has taken up this. And we call on the Senate to move quickly on this matter,” Kirby said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We want to see the divestment of this Chinese company because we are concerned, as every American should be, about data security and what ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party might do with the information they obtain from the company’s use the Americans can win.” Application.”
The White House’s call to action comes at a time when the Senate is slow to advance the bill, requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company or face a ban in the United States
The bill passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday by a vote of 352-65. President Joe Biden, who is currently on TikTok for his re-election campaign, said he would sign the bill if it passed Congress.
Driven by the momentum of the vote in their chamber, eager House members want the bill to pass more quickly.
“Mike [Gallagher] and I have had very positive discussions with various members of the Senate who are very interested in this bill and have been very surprised by the size or range of overwhelming bipartisan support in the House,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi , D-Il., co-chair with Republican Rep. Gallagher of Wisconsin chairing the House Special Committee on China Relations on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
But the Senate has a busy week ahead as Capitol Hill struggles to negotiate a budget resolution for the remaining six budget bills that expire Friday, which would trigger a partial government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has made clear he is in no rush to pass TikTok legislation. He said he would “revise” the text without committing to a timetable for the vote. Schumer has previously expressed support for selling TikTok to a US company.
Furthermore, some MPs in the Upper House have been slow to adopt the bill rather than adopting it in full.
For example, senators such as Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., have tentatively offered support for the measure but have been hesitant to commit to a yes vote.
“I definitely agree with it. Let’s see what happens next in the Senate trial. But yeah, I think we need to put barriers in place around ownership of TikTok,” Cardin said in a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” .”
The TikTok bill has also sparked debate outside of Capitol Hill. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has spoken out against a possible TikTok ban, a reversal from his stance years ago when he advocated for the ban as president.
“You can make Facebook bigger without TikTok, and I think Facebook is an enemy of the people,” Trump said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence reiterated on Sunday that Trump’s opposition to the TikTok law was the main reason he decided not to support his former boss for president in the upcoming election.
“The President’s about-face just last week on TikTok, after an administration that literally changed the national consensus on China, is why, after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t support the agenda that Donald Trump is pursuing. “This national debate,” Pence said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
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2024-03-17 17:15:28
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