US lawmakers are close to enacting legislation that would ban TikTok nationwide. From the report: Last month, the House of Representatives by a wide margin passed a bill that would ban TikTok from being distributed in the United States unless ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, sells its ownership of the app within 165 days of enactment. On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new proposal that would extend the deadline for divestment requirements to nine months, with the possibility of a 90-day extension, and committee chair Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) addressed the major concerns of the state. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee said the sale timeline was too short.
The revised TikTok ban is tied to broader legislation that would provide emergency aid to Ukraine and Israel. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Saturday, and if it passes, it will be moved to the Senate. President Biden has announced that he will sign the TikTok Divestment and Ban Act. On Wednesday night, Cantwell said he supports amendments to the TikTok ban bill. “I am very pleased that Speaker Johnson and the House leadership have taken up my proposal to extend the ByteDance sale from six months to one year,” he said in a statement. “As I have said, extending the sale period is necessary to allow a new buyer sufficient time to complete the transaction, and I support this latest bill.”
