{"id":2224255,"date":"2024-04-18T14:05:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maria-cantwell-once-a-skeptic-announces-support-for-modified-tiktok-bill\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T14:08:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:08:03","slug":"maria-cantwell-once-a-skeptic-announces-support-for-modified-tiktok-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maria-cantwell-once-a-skeptic-announces-support-for-modified-tiktok-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria Cantwell, who was once skeptical, now backs modified TikTok bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmaria-cantwell-once-a-skeptic-announces-support-for-modified-tiktok-bill%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2224255&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, initially critical of \u2064the TikTok bill, now\u200d supports the legislation\u2064 after securing an extended divestment period for ByteDance. Facing scrutiny over her ties to TikTok, Cantwell&#8217;s updated stance aligns \u200cwith the bill&#8217;s revisions. The revised bill is part of\u2062 a broader\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mitch-mcconnell-leads-delegation-of-gop-senators-to-ukraine\/\" title=\"Mitch McConnell Leads Delegation of GOP Senators to Ukraine\">foreign aid package<\/a> set for a House vote, influencing TikTok to condemn the bill as a threat to free\u2063 speech and the economy.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Washington Democrat has faced scrutiny over her TikTok ties<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tSen. Maria Cantwell (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), formerly a leading critic of the House\u2019s sell-or-ban bill against TikTok, has announced her support for the legislation now that it includes her proposal to give ByteDance a longer divestment window.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/commercedems\/status\/1780790527408976216\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> released Wednesday evening, Cantwell said she supports the updated legislation, which includes extending the divestment period requiring TikTok\u2019s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest from its American operations or face a ban from six months to a year. As the head of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee, Cantwell has jurisdiction over the bill and whether it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maria-cantwell-took-thousands-from-tiktok-lobbyist-days-after-house-passed-bill-targeting-chinese-owned-app\/\" title=\"Maria Cantwell received substantial donations from a TikTok lobbyist shortly after the House approved a bill aimed at Chinese-owned apps\">eventually moves forward<\/a> to a floor vote in the upper chamber.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m very happy that Speaker Johnson and House leaders incorporated my recommendation to extend the ByteDance divestment period from six months to a year,&#8221; said Cantwell. &#8220;As I\u2019ve said, extending the divestment period is necessary to ensure there is enough time for a new buyer to get a deal done. I support this updated legislation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Democrat has faced scrutiny over her ties to the Chinese owned video-sharing app, with several of her former <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/democratic-critic-of-house-tiktok-bill-has-ties-to-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">senior aides<\/a> working for TikTok as it lobbies lawmakers to kill the legislation. Cantwell has also received thousands of dollars in contributions to her reelection campaign from different employees on TikTok\u2019s payroll. Financial <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00349506\/1775712\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disclosures<\/a> reviewed by the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> show that\u00a0a TikTok lobbyist <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/maria-cantwell-took-thousands-from-tiktok-lobbyist-days-after-house-passed-bill-targeting-chinese-owned-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contributed<\/a> $2,000 to Cantwell\u2019s campaign just days after the House <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/house-passes-bill-cracking-down-on-chinese-owned-tiktok\/\">passed<\/a> its bipartisan bill in March.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese diplomats have also been quietly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/04\/17\/china-lobbying-tiktok-congress-00152819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meeting<\/a> with congressional staff to lobby against the legislation, despite TikTok denying having a relationship with the Chinese government. Cantwell did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The revised TikTok proposal is tied to a broader foreign aid package that would provide $26.4 billion to support Israel, $60.8 billion to bolster Ukraine, and $8.1 billion to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. The House is expected to vote on the measure on Saturday, and if it passes would move to the Senate. In response, TikTok issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TikTokPolicy\/status\/1780777424109604894\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> on Wednesday accusing the House of using the foreign aid package as a cover to &#8220;jam through&#8221; the bill.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-push-to-rein-in-big-tech-as-federal-gears-grind-slow\/\" title=\"States Push to Rein in Big Tech as Federal Gears Grind Slow\">free speech rights<\/a> of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million business, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually,&#8221; TikTok said.<\/p>\n<p>Last week Cantwell <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/senate-democrat-with-ties-to-chinese-owned-tiktok-pans-house-divestment-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> reporters that the bill requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok or risk a ban &#8220;could be better.&#8221; In particular, Cantwell said the House bill might not stand up to legal scrutiny if passed. However, a constitutional law firm that scrutinized the legislation disagreed and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JTLonsdale\/status\/1770517157731811564\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> that the divestment bill &#8220;is consistent with the United States Constitution.&#8221; The firm additionally determined that the House bill &#8220;regulates conduct\u2014the foreign ownership of a covered platform\u2014not speech, so the First Amendment likely does not apply.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Unlike her colleagues, Cantwell has also <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/democrat-maria-cantwell-emerges-as-key-player-in-tiktok-fight-her-former-aides-are-working-for-the-company\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stressed<\/a> patience when it comes to pushing the House bill forward. After a group of bipartisan senators attended a classified briefing on TikTok last month, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) said the app &#8220;is a gun pointed at Americans\u2019 heads,&#8221; while Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) added that &#8220;there was a deep concern about the threat of TikTok from both sides of the aisle&#8221; and called on the Senate to &#8220;expeditiously&#8221; advance the legislation.\t<\/p>\n<p>Cantwell&#8217;s cautious approach to the House bill not only differs from some of her Senate colleagues but also contrasts with President Joe Biden\u2019s commitment to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, has also urged the Senate to pass the House bill &#8220;swiftly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We want to see divestiture from this Chinese company because we are concerned, as every American ought to be concerned, about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-rubio-introduces-bills-to-thwart-chinas-attempt-to-obtain-us-genomic-data\/\" title=\"Sen. Rubio Introduces Bills to Thwart China's Attempt to Obtain US Genomic Data\">data security<\/a> and what ByteDance and what the Chinese Communist Party could do with the information that they can glean off of Americans\u2019 use of the application,&#8221; Kirby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/03\/17\/white-house-senate-tiktok-bill.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Maria Cantwell from Washington, previously scrutinized for her connections to TikTok, has shifted her stance. Once a vocal critic of the House&#8217;s TikTok bill, she now endorses it after securing a longer divestment period for ByteDance. Cantwell&#8217;s updated position aims to address concerns surrounding the proposed legislation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2360,"featured_media":2224256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/senate-hearing-examines-aviation-safety-after-reports-of-near-collisio_736x515.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/senate-hearing-examines-aviation-safety-after-reports-of-near-collisio_736x515.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}