TikTok faces new pressure from Congress as ban looms

Caroline Woods brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Friday, April 19.

Full Video Transcript Below:

CAROLINE WOODS: I’m Caroline Woods reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.

Stocks are off to a rough start Friday as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate. Oil prices rose 3 percent early Friday morning with crude prices surpassing 90 dollars a barrel.

The S&P 500 is heading for its worst week in almost six months after five straight losing sessions on Wall Street. This comes after renewed fears that interest rates could stay higher for longer.

In other news, a TikTok ban may be closer than we thought. The Senate has yet to approve a House bill banning the platform. However, House Republicans have now tied the bill to a foreign aid package intended to help Israel and Ukraine, with the hopes of forcing the Senate’s hand.

In March, the House of Representatives approved a bill, called the ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,’ that would force TikTok’s owner, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, to either sell the popular social media platform or have it banned in the United States.

At the time, TikTok released a statement saying, “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”

Lawmakers remain concerned over TikTok’s potential national security threat because of its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. President Joe Biden, who himself has a TikTok account, has said he would sign the bill if it passed in the Senate.

That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Caroline Woods with TheStreet.