It may be time for the United States Senate’s proposed TikTok ban to receive some edits. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, has called for an amendment to the contentious Restrict Act.
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Restrict Act in March, days before TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew made a contentious visit to Capitol Hill. The initial version of the Restrict Act, which received approval from President Biden, gave the White House power to regulate apps controlled by foreign entities. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance.
In the months since March, TikTok has continued to deal with fallout related to its handling of U.S. user data. But even though the Senate still has security concerns related to TikTok, recent developments have suggested that a wholesale ban on the app may not be so easy to enforce. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte‘s attempt to roll out a statewide TikTok ban was met with numerous lawsuits.
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A more recent piece of legislation offered ideas about how to regulate TikTok without banning it, but Cantwell has ideas that would salvage the Restrict Act. Though the Senate’s anti-TikTok bill has received bipartisan support, it has also been criticized on both sides of the aisle. Republicans have questioned the amount of power the Restrict Act would give to the White House, and some Democrats have sided with TikTok and its creators rather than pushing for a ban.
Cantwell’s proposed Restrict Act amendment would strike a regulatory balance between the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. “You want to give people tools that they can use and you want to set parameters that give somebody the oversight,” she told a group of reporters.
The Restrict Act changes Cantwell wants are outlined in the text of an amendment she added to the Congressional record. “The President should undertake a rulemaking process to protect United States data linked to sensitive populations that could be exploited by foreign adversaries to the detriment of the national security of the United States while preserving freedom of expression and rights under the Constitution of the United States,” Cantwell wrote.
According to The Washington Post, Cantwell will bring her Restrict Act proposal to her Commerce committee members at the conclusion of the Senate’s August recess.
