'TikTok Sale Bill' US House Floor D-1... "Intense Lobbying"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to pass a bill forcing the shutdown of the Chinese short-form platform TikTok, TikTok is reportedly launching a lobbying campaign to block the legislation.

On the 12th (local time), Bloomberg cited anonymous sources saying that "(TikTok's operator ByteDance) would also need approval from the Chinese government, which is expected to be very difficult, for any sale," and conveyed the internal TikTok sentiment that "selling TikTok is a last resort."

If ByteDance does not sell TikTok within 165 days, the bill, which would classify TikTok's distribution in the U.S. app market as illegal, was introduced on the 5th by the U.S. House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. The House plans to vote on the bill in a plenary session on the 13th. Since both House Democrats and Republicans have reached a bipartisan consensus, the bill is considered likely to pass.

TikTok is conducting opposition lobbying to prevent the bill's passage in the Senate. There is a belief that there is a chance of success because opinions on TikTok's forced sale are divided in the Senate. On the same day, TikTok CEO Zhu Shouzi visited the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. with TikTok influencers to inform senators about the unfairness of the bill.

There are quite a few skeptics in the Senate regarding the forced sale bill for TikTok. Republican Senator Thom Tillis expressed concern that "such a precedent could lead European countries to target American companies." Senator Rand Paul also stated firmly, "Anything that violates the First Amendment will be blocked."

ByteDance reportedly maintains a large in-house lobbying team to block the bill and continuously manages a list of lobbying firms that include former lawmakers. Last year, ByteDance spent a record $8.7 million on federal lobbying.

Some have noted the dual stance on TikTok held by this year's presidential candidates from both parties, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. As a result, it is expected that the bill will be difficult to implement within this year.

Major foreign media pointed out that while President Biden has indicated he would sign the forced sale bill for TikTok, he is actually using TikTok in his election campaign to win the votes of younger generations.Former President Trump, who issued a TikTok ban executive order in 2020, recently stated in a CNBC interview, "If TikTok disappears, Facebook could grow even bigger," and claimed, "There are many kids who would go crazy without TikTok."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.