Mitch McConnell comes out in support of House-passed TikTok bill that could ban ... trends now
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell effectively endorsed the House's bill that could ban TikTok in his first comments on the matter Monday.
'Requiring the divestment of Beijing-influenced entitlement from TikTok would land squarely within established constitutional precedent, and it would begin to turn back the tide of an enormous threat to America's children and to our nation's prospects in defining the competition of the 21st century,' the minority leader said in remarks on the Senate floor.
The bill, which overwhelmingly passed the House last month, would require Chinese-based parent company ByteDance to divest TikTok or else the popular video-sharing platform would be banned in the U.S.
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell effectively endorsed the House's bill that could ban TikTok in his first comments on the matter Monday
McConnell called TikTok 'a platform that is beholden to our foremost strategic competitor' and a 'tool of surveillance and propaganda' for the Chinese government.
The Kentucky Republican added 'PRC influence and control has been baked in from the very beginning.'
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet agreed to bring the bill to the Senate floor. The New York Democrat said last week that when his chamber returns Monday they would work 'on a path forward on TikTok legislation.'
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 on March 13 to give ByteDance about six months to divest TikTok.
Schumer's statement did not outline a specific position on the House-passed bill.
Last month, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell said she wanted to hold a public hearing on a TikTok crackdown bill.
TikTok sent this notification to users on Tuesday morning, prompting them to get in touch with their lawmakers to let them know whether they support the TikTok bill
TikTok's supporters and other First Amendment advocates have expressed concerns that the bill could restrict free speech. 'Let's be absolutely clear, this isn't a debate about restricting speech,' McConnell shot back.
'After all, the PRC does enough of that itself. Chinese citizens are banned from accessing Tik Tok at all. No matter how loudly Tik Tok's apologists claim that reining in PRC influence violates the
