Senate intel chiefs express support for House-passed bill that could ban TikTok

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Wednesday they will work pass a bill that could ban TikTok through the Senate after a vote in the House advanced it by a wide margin.  

The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would force ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to divest the app within roughly five months of going into effect, or be banned in the U.S.

Supporters of the bill say TikTok’s control by a Chinese company could leave data from millions of Americans within reach of the Chinese government.

“We are united in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok — a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans whose parent company ByteDance remains legally required to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party,” Warner and Rubio said in a joint statement.  

“We were encouraged by today’s strong bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, and look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law,” they added.  

The bill passed in the House in a 352-65 vote.  

Opposition was raised on both sides of the aisle, but ultimately its supporters won over the critics — even after a fierce lobbying campaign from TikTok that urged users to call members of Congress to oppose the legislation.  

A TikTok spokesperson urged the Senate to proceed more slowly than the House, which passed the bill in a floor vote less than a week after it was first introduced.  

“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban. We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” the spokesperson said in a statement.  

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate “will review the legislation when it comes over from the House.”

Updated at 11:46 a.m.