Senators Discuss Potential One-Year Extension For TikTok Ban Deadline

The chair of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday that lawmakers might consider giving ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, a one-year extension on the proposed deadline to divest the popular short video app.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell expressed her support for extending the deadline to one year. She also said there are ongoing discussions with colleagues, saying there are questions to address.

It comes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held discussions with Cantwell over the legislation aimed at banning the popular app, which is used by 170 million people in the U.S.

The discussions continue to be at a standstill in the Senate, as key Democrats encountered difficulties reaching consensus Wednesday. Cantwell expressed reluctance to rush through legislation that would compel ByteDance Ltd to divest itself of the video-sharing app.

She said it was still "possible" for the Senate to consider the House bill, but she added that senators are aiming to strengthen the legislation and ensure its sound legal foundation, while highlighting previous unsuccessful attempts by the Trump administration and the state of Montana to ban TikTok.

On March 13, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 to provide ByteDance with approximately six months to divest the U.S. assets of the app, failing which could result in a ban.

The legislative maneuver, labeled the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," sent shockwaves across the tech industry and ignited a heated debate on national security, civil liberties, and the role of government intervention in digital realms. It still must pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden for the ban to become law.

This was followed by Cantwell and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, releasing a draft bipartisan data privacy legislation on April 8, aimed at strengthening privacy safeguards and limiting the type of consumer data that tech firms can gather.

The American Privacy Rights Act empowers Americans to prohibit the sale or demand the removal of personal information. It was prompted by concerns over the use of data by social media giants like TikTok.

This week, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell labeled TikTok as "America's greatest strategic rival" and highlighted security concerns within tens of millions of American households.

However, TikTok has said a ban would infringe upon the First Amendment rights of its 170 million American users. The company contends that it has never shared U.S. data and remains committed to safeguarding American user data, having invested over $1.5 billion to ensure its protection and storage within the U.S.