Mitch McConnell backs House TikTok bill that could lead to ban

Washington — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday endorsed a bill that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S. after its momentum slowed in the Senate following its whirlwind passage in the House last month. 

"This is the matter that deserves Congress' urgent attention, and I'll support common sense bipartisan steps to take one of Beijing's favorite tools of coercion and espionage off the table," the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor, describing the platform as "a tool of surveillance and of propaganda." 

The legislation seeks to force its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months to maintain access to U.S. web-hosting services and app stores.