Tag: Senate

TikTok Bill Would Complicate ByteDance Investments if Passed

Media Library

For years, the U.S. investors who backed ByteDance, the Chinese internet company that owns TikTok, have wrestled with the complexities of owning a piece of a geopolitically fraught social media app. Now it’s gotten even more complicated. A bill to force ByteDance to sell TikTok is winding its way through the Senate after sailing through the House this month. Questions about whether TikTok’s Chinese ties make it a national security threat are mounting. And U.S. investors including General Atlantic, Susquehanna International Group and Sequoia Capital — which collectively poured billions…

TikTok Bill’s Progress Slows in the Senate

Media Library

After a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the app or face a nationwide ban sailed through the House at breakneck speed this week, its progress has slowed in the Senate. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader who determines what legislation gets a vote, has not decided whether to bring the bill to the floor, his spokesman said. Senators — some of whom have their own versions of bills targeting TikTok — will need to be convinced. Other legislation on the runway could…

TikTok Turns to Creators to Fight Possible Ban

Media Library

Facing a possible ban in the United States, TikTok has scrambled to deploy perhaps its most powerful weapon: its creators. The hugely popular video service began recruiting dozens of creators at the end of last week, asking them to travel to Washington to fight a bill being debated in Congress. Under the proposal, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, would need to sell the app or it would be blocked in the United States. Many of the creators have met with lawmakers and posted videos about their opposition to the bill with…

Senator Chuck Schumer Leads Bipartisan Trip to China

Media Library

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation on Friday to China, where the group plans to meet with top government and business leaders at a time of rising tensions between the United States and Beijing. Mr. Schumer, who has long taken a tough stand on China, said he would use the trip to appeal to the nation’s top leaders for better economic reciprocity for U.S. companies currently being iced out of Chinese markets and better policing of the export of…

Senate Delegation to Travel to China During Congressional Recess

Media Library

Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, is expected to lead a bipartisan delegation of six senators on a trip to China next week, the latest in a series of high-level visits by U.S. officials to Beijing. The lawmakers are expected to hold meetings with Chinese government and business leaders and discuss a number of contentious issues that have raised tensions between Washington and Beijing in recent months. The delegation plans to ask Chinese leaders about human rights violations, including China’s crackdown on ethnic minorities, and its role as the top…

Schumer to Lead Senate Delegation to China Amid Tensions

Media Library

Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, is planning to lead a bipartisan delegation of senators to China this fall, making him the highest-level congressional official and the latest senior statesman to visit the United States’ rival superpower as the Biden administration attempts to address tensions with Beijing through an all-out diplomatic push. The delegation, which Mr. Schumer will lead alongside Senator Michael D. Crapo, Republican of Idaho, also plans to make stops in Japan and South Korea, according to spokespeople for both senators’ offices. The planned visit was reported earlier…

Senate Targets China, Voting to Restrict Farmland Purchases and U.S. Investment

Media Library

The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to block businesses based in China from purchasing farmland in the United States and place new mandates on Americans investing in the country’s national security industries, taking the first legislative steps of the new Congress to counter Beijing’s espionage activities and curtail its economic power. The provisions, which would need to clear the House to become law, are a far cry from more ambitious efforts to target China’s economy through export controls and undermine its intelligence gathering and influence operations in the United States…

Senators Accuse TikTok of Misleading Congress on U.S. User Data

Media Library

Two senators sent a letter to TikTok’s chief executive on Tuesday, accusing the company of making misleading claims to Congress around how it stores and handles American user data, and demanding answers to more than a dozen questions by the end of next week. The letter, from Senators Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, focused on how sensitive data about American users may be stored in China and how employees there may have access to it. The lawmakers said recent reports from The New York…

Listen to The Headlines, a Short Show on the Day’s Biggest News

Media Library

By New York Times Audio The New York Times Audio app includes podcasts, narrated articles from the newsroom and other publishers, as well as exclusive new shows — including this one — which we’re making available to readers for a limited time. Download the audio app here. The Headlines brings you the biggest stories of the day from the Times reporters who are covering them, all in about 10 minutes. Hosted by Annie Correal, the new morning show features three top stories from reporters across the newsroom and around the…

Congress Clashes With Biden Over Tariffs on Illegal Chinese Solar Panels

Media Library

The Senate voted on Wednesday to reinstate tariffs on solar panels from Chinese companies in Southeast Asia that had been found to be coming into the United States in violation of trade rules. The measure, which passed by a vote of 56 to 41, had already been approved by the House. It sets up a showdown with the Biden administration, which had temporarily halted the tariffs to try to ensure that the country had an adequate supply of solar panels in the fight against climate change. President Biden has said…