The measure is the latest in a series of moves in Washington to respond to US national security concerns about China, from connected vehicles to advanced artificial intelligence chips to cranes at US ports.
The political climate is growing in favor of the Bill. President Joe Biden said last week he would sign it and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday asked: “Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok – children’s data, adults’ data – to be going, to be staying here in America or going to China?”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry criticised the legislation on Tuesday, arguing “though the US has never found any evidence of TikTok posing a threat to the US’ national security, it has never stopped going after TikTok”.
A number of prominent Democrats in the House voted against the Bill including House Democratic Whip Kathleen Clark, Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as the top Democrats on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Transportation and Intelligence committees.
“There are serious antitrust and privacy questions here, and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, who will play an important role in the Senate’s next move, said she wants legislation “that could hold up in court”, and is considering a separate Bill, but is not sure what her next step is.
The vote comes just over a week since the Bill was proposed following one public hearing with little debate, and after action in Congress had stalled for more than a year. Last month, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok, raising hopes among TikTok officials that legislation was unlikely this year.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week voted 50-0 in favor of the Bill, setting it up for a vote before the full House.
Source: CNA
