06.20.25

Cantwell Urges Trump to Finally Bring TikTok Under U.S. Ownership: “We Are Allowing This National Security Issue to Fester”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor urging President Donald Trump to follow the law as passed by Congress and ensure TikTok is sold to a U.S. company so that America’s enemies will no longer be able to weaponize TikTok to spread their propaganda and turn the world against the United States. In her remarks, Sen. Cantwell cited studies that revealed an alarming rise in anti-Semitic content on TikTok.  

Yesterday, President Trump announced that he would extend a June 19 deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese-owned company that owns TikTok, to sell the app. His extension – the third of its kind – would push the divestment date to mid-September.  Earlier today, he signed an Executive Order to extend the deadline until September 17, 2025  

“I rise to express my concerns about reports that President Trump is going to again extend the deadline for getting TikTok out of the control of ByteDance and the Chinese government. Concern because that means that again, we are going to allow this national security issue to fester and to continue on, maybe for several more months,” she said.

“I'm concerned that these extensions of the TikTok deal are illegal. Note that Congress passed this law, and the president extending the deadline to allow them to continue to operate in the United States under the control of ByteDance and the Chinese government is not what Congress intended,” Sen. Cantwell continued.

“Simply put, we cannot continue to allow foreign adversaries to control technology that can fuel domestic and political polarization and civil unrest. We need the president to follow the law that Congress passed -- bring TikTok under U.S. ownership.”

Video of her floor speech is HERE; a transcript is HERE.

In January 2025, following the Supreme Court’s 9-0 decision to uphold the law requiring the sale of TikTok, Sen. Cantwell issued a statement urging the administration to “find a solution to shut the Chinese government backdoor, improve the platform, and help content creators earn more revenue for their work.”

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