Photo by Charles Delvio
Federal lawmakers have agreed to update the TikTok forced sale bill, giving Bytedance a longer grace period after its passage before it can withdraw from the video-sharing app. The development suggests the bill could receive critical Senate approval.
The move to protect Americans from the Foreign Adversary Control Applications Act was announced in an update from Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Although the mentioned bill quickly passed the House with a bipartisan vote in March, passage of the bill in the Senate was relatively slow.
To that end, reports near the beginning of April suggested that Sen. Cantwell intended to push for changes, including a period of time by which ByteDance would have to sell or shut down TikTok in the United States. It also included a six-month extension.
Carrying out this idea, senators said in a recent statement that they were “very pleased” with House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to adjust this decline period to one year.
“I am very pleased that Speaker Johnson and the House leadership have taken my proposal to extend the ByteDance sale from six months to one year,” said the senator. statement To read.
“As I have said, extending the sale period is necessary to allow a new buyer sufficient time to complete the transaction. I support this latest bill,” the comment concluded. It is.
Of course, assuming this bill passes, it's unclear whether ByteDance, which is part of the Chinese government, will choose to cash out TikTok in the United States.
Indeed, the platform and its executives are portraying the measure as an outright ban, including a multi-million dollar TikTok ad campaign underway in battleground states. And for the large corporations, sports teams and leagues, and other companies that TikTok counts as partners, the possibility of a total state government shutdown probably won't sit well with them.
Nevertheless, given the hefty price tag for TikTok's U.S. operations, a potential buyer, or more accurately a group of buyers, is still lining up for an acquisition.
Beyond the impact of these and related points on the legislative process, in addition to the far-reaching implications of this situation for the industry, the divestment period adjustment is significant in terms of the bill's passage through the Senate. According to The Hill, the revised provisions of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemies Application Control Act are part of a multifaceted package that includes new sanctions against Iran, among other things.
Despite an escalating licensing battle with Universal Music, the looming end of the NMPA deal, and an uncertain future in the U.S., TikTok remains an industry mover. Earlier this week, the app announced a global ticketing partnership with AEG's AXS.