Big Tech Earnings and TikTok Ban Bill Coming Next Week

Get ready. The tech news cycle is about to go into overdrive. Next week we’ve got March-quarter earnings from Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms. The first two will be closely watched for what we can glean about how artificial intelligence–powered services are lifting revenues, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is sure to wax eloquent about his hopes and dreams for dominating AI when he speaks on Wednesday. But those earnings reports may be dwarfed by what’s likely to be the bigger news: the probable passage of the ban-or-sell TikTok bill through Congress.

While predicting what could happen in Washington is hazardous for out-of-towners, Friday’s developments in the House of Representatives suggest that the stop-start progress of the TikTok bill may be about to give way to a speedy resolution. A revised version of the bill is now packaged with the Ukraine-Israel aid package, which the House is expected to vote on Saturday. Assuming it goes through, the bill seems likely to quickly pass the Senate and go to Biden’s desk. A week ago, it looked like the bill was dying a slow death in the Senate. But by this time next week, it may be law.