WASHINGTON — A long-awaited bipartisan Senate bill to give the president the power to respond to threats posed by TikTok and companies like it will be unveiled Tuesday afternoon by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner. a commission spokeswoman told CNBC.
The Virginia Democrat will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. ET with South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune, the legislation’s lead co-sponsor.
The precise text of the legislation has yet to be released, but Warner suggested last weekend that the bill would not simply contain TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance.
“In terms of foreign technology coming into America, we have to have a systemic approach to make sure we can ban it or ban it if necessary,” Warner said on Fox News on Sunday.
“TikTok is one of the potentials,” which could be targeted by the bill, Warner said. “They’re taking data from Americans, not keeping it safe.”
“But what worries me the most with TikTok is that it could be a propaganda tool. The kind of videos you see would promote ideological questions,” he added.
Warner’s bill comes nearly a week after the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced a Republican-sponsored bill that seeks to do the same.
The House legislation passed the GOP-controlled committee 24-16 along party lines, with unanimous GOP support and no Democratic votes.
Dubbed the Deterrence of America’s Technology Adversaries Act, or DATA, Act, the House bill demands that the president impose sweeping penalties on China-based or China-controlled companies that engage in the transfer of “sensitive personal data” of Americans to entities or individuals based in China. , or controlled by, China.
And while the data law passed its committee of jurisdiction, it was unclear on Monday when, or if, it would receive a vote in full.
Bills that authorize the US President Joe Biden to curb Chinese companies that collect Americans’ personal data have gained momentum in recent months, as talks between TikTok and the Treasury Department Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States have stalled.
CFIUS, which assesses the risks associated with foreign investment deals, is reviewing ByteDance’s 2017 purchase of Musical.ly.
TikTok hopes the CFIUS investigation will ultimately lead to an agreement between the company and the government to address data privacy concerns while protecting the company’s ability to operate in the United States.
“The quickest and most thorough way to address national security concerns is for CFIUS to adopt the proposed agreement that we have been working on with them for nearly two years,” said TikTok spokeswoman Brooke. Oberwetter, at CNBC last week.
But as the CFIUS investigation drags on without a resolution, the White House has reportedly begun to focus more energy on the potential for Congress to open a legal avenue for Biden to take action against companies that pose a threat to national security.
Within the administration, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has become a resource person in this effort.
“There are a number of members of the United States Senate who are seriously considering the right way to protect American national security,” Raimondo said in a recent interview with Bloomberg News.
“We will work with Congress to find the right way to legislate to protect America from these concerns,” she added.
Last Monday, the Biden administration released new implementing rules for a TikTok ban that only applies to federally owned devices, which were passed by Congress in December.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is due to appear as a witness at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on March 23.
CNBC Marie-Catherine Wellons contributed to the reporting of this story.