Now a debate has begun on the TikTok legislation, marking a prelude to the eventual House vote scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, a major co-sponsor of the bill and ranking member of a House select committee on China, urged his colleagues to support the legislation.
“This bill is not a ban. And it's not about TikTok; it's about ByteDance,” Krishnamoorthi said.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers are announcing their position on the bill through videos posted on TikTok.
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, posted a video of a previous television appearance in which he advocated for a national data privacy law that would govern not just TikTok but all technology platforms.
“I will vote NO on the bill to ban TikTok,” the video's title read.
New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman posted a TikTok video recorded from the halls of Congress and directly addressing users of the app.
“My colleagues are trying to ban TikTok, which is crazy,” Bowman said in the video. “They are doing it because of their pressure, because of their organization, because of their good work.”
