Even the lawmakers behind the TikTok ban have no idea what’s going on

Less than two years ago, TikTok was a crisis situation on Capitol Hill. The chair of the House Select Committee on China called it “digital fentanyl” that brainwashes young Americans into supporting Hamas. A former national security adviser said letting TikTok remain in the US under its Chinese owner “would be akin to allowing Soviet control of several major American newspapers and TV channels during the Cold War.” Lawmakers left classified national security briefings about TikTok sharing grave concerns. All of it culminated in the surprise frenzy of a bipartisan bill forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban, which swiftly became law.

But nearly a year after the app should have been kicked out of the US, TikTok remains widely available, thanks to intervention from the administration of President Donald Trump. A promised acquisition by US investors, brokered through Trump, has been stalled for months. And the lawmakers who passed the ban are largely staying quiet.