TikTok lobbying surges ahead of House vote this week

Tensions between Congress and TikTok have reached a boiling point ahead of a high-stakes House vote — scheduled for March 13 — that could lead to a US ban of the massively popular video app.

Intense lobbying is underway on both sides of the bipartisan bill, which would force Beijing-based Bytedance to divest its ownership of TikTok within 165 days, according to Axios.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to visit Capitol Hill this week as part of the company's full-court press.

If passed and signed by President Biden, the bill would have major implications for the US election, national security, the social media ecosystem, small businesses, America's youth and more.

Divisions within the Republican Party over banning TikTok have erupted at the eleventh hour, following former President Trump's head-scratching reversal on a policy he championed in office.

In an interview on CNBC on Monday morning, Trump said he still believes TikTok's Chinese ownership poses "a national security risk" — but again argued that banning the app would only help Facebook.

"Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people," Trump said.

In a new twist, the former president also pointed out: "There are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it."

The House will vote on the TikTok bill Wednesday morning under "suspension of the rules," meaning it will require a two-thirds majority to pass.

TikTok once again sent push notifications Monday urging users to call their representative — a tactic that led to a surge in threats last week and backfired when a key House committee voted 50-0 to advance the bill.

The company also plans on flooding House offices with content creators and lobbyists this week, though it doesn't expect to change the outcome of the vote, Axios' Ashley Gold reports.