The Senate is newly receptive to legislation mandating the sale of TikTok after the House tweaked the bill to give its Chinese owners more “runway” to find a buyer.
The House passed a bill forcing the sale of the popular social app in March, fueled by concerns over spying by the Chinese government, but the push hit a wall in the Senate as lawmakers raised concerns over targeting a single company in legislation.
The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee supported the bill, but Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), whose committee has jurisdiction, expressed reluctance. She previously introduced a competing measure that would have given the Commerce Department the ability to ban foreign-owned apps.
The House bill, which passed in a 352-65 vote, would have given ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok,
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