McConnell backs House TikTok bill forcing sale from Chinese company

Sen. Mitch McConnell on Monday came out in support of legislation passed by the House that would force the sale of TikTok from its Chinese parent company.

“Requiring the divestment of Beijing-influenced entities from TikTok would land squarely within established constitutional precedent,” McConnell said on the Senate floor, breaking his silence on the controversial measure that’s divided Kentucky’s congressional delegation.

The Senate GOP leader said the influence of the Chinese government over the hugely popular video app has been “baked in from the very beginning,” describing it as a “tool of surveillance and of propaganda.”

The House overwhelmingly cleared a bill forcing the sale of TikTok from ByteDance three and a half weeks ago. But Senate action is unclear, with Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promising only to review the legislation and “work on a path forward.”

About 170 million Americans use TikTok to view and create an assortment of videos that can quickly attain virality among a global audience.

It’s unclear if McConnell’s position will hold considerable sway over the Republican conference, which largely views China as a strategic threat but may have problems restricting any form of media.

Sen. Rand Paul previously outlined his opposition to the legislation forcing the sale, arguing against “reactionaries” who believe the data of TikTok users can’t be properly secured.

“I take a backseat to no one when it comes to protecting First Amendment rights. I’ve firmly defended Americans’ rights to even the most noxious forms of free speech, like flag-burning,” McConnell said. “But there’s a serious difference between the views Americans might express on TikTok and the actions taken by a platform that’s beholden to our foremost strategic competitor.”

Schumer has tasked the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Maria Cantwell of Washington, with tweaking the House legislation as she sees fit, but Cantwell hasn’t detailed how she’ll do it.

The longer Cantwell and Senate Democratic leadership take in deciding how to handle the legislation, the less likely it’ll ultimately receive a vote in an election year.

While more Democratic lawmakers and candidates hold TikTok accounts, the politics around restricting the app is murky, with the youngest Americans the most likely to be angered by anything that would change their experience.

But most analysts don’t believe TikTok would go away given the amount of money involved.

If the legislation is taken up by the Senate, passed and signed into law by President Joe Biden, ByteDance would have five and a half months to find a new owner or be banned from app stores.

However, in that scenario, TikTok is almost certainly expected to challenge any new restriction in court, delaying any enforcement before November’s election and likely for months or even years beyond it.

This story was originally published April 8, 2024 at 5:34 PM with the headline "McConnell backs House TikTok bill forcing sale from Chinese company."