House moves on bill that targets TikTok

In flip, Trump says ban would aid Facebook, an ‘enemy of the people’

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders are moving this week to pass legislation that would force the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the platform or face being banned in the United States, even after former President Donald Trump came out against targeting the app he once vowed to ban.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the majority leader, said Monday the House would try to speed the bill to passage under special procedures that require a twothirds majority for passage. The approach reflected the bill’s growing momentum on Capitol Hill during an election year in which members of Congress are eager to demonstrate a willingness to be tough on China.

“We must ensure the Chinese government cannot weaponize TikTok against American users and our government through data collection and propaganda,” Scalise said in his weekly preview of legislation to be considered on the House floor.

The 13-page bill is the product of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which has served as an island of bipartisanship in the polarized House. The legislation would remove TikTok from app stores in the United States by Sept. 30 unless its Beijing-based parent, ByteDance, sold its stake.

But Trump, who as president issued an executive order that did exactly that, has now changed course and is vocally opposing the bill.

Trump on Monday offered a rambling explanation for his reversal, saying that he did not want to alienate young voters or imbue Facebook, which he considers a mortal foe, with more power.

In an interview on CNBC, Trump said that he still considered TikTok a national security threat, but that banning it would make young people “go crazy.” He added that any action harming the platform would benefit Facebook, which he called an “enemy of the people.”