Lawmakers urge Biden to extend deadline for TikTok ban in US

On January 15, 2025By Littum

Late. Ed Markey, D-Mass, announced plans to introduce legislation to delay the upcoming deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by another 270 days.

Some lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden and the U.S. Supreme Court to take action to prevent TikTok from being banned Sunday under a law they say will come at the expense of free speech for millions of Americans.

The Supreme Court on Friday heard a challenge to the law by TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance. As it became clear the court appeared poised to uphold the law, which would require ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., announced he planned to introduce legislation to to extend the deadline.

The impending law, which would effectively lead to a ban on TikTok in the US if ByteDance is unable to meet the deadline, comes after President Joe Biden signed legislation last spring for national security reasons. However, defenders of the popular app, which has 170 million US users, say the law violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech.

Under a ban, TikTok would be illegal for distribution through the Apple App Store and Google Play, threatening the livelihoods of millions of Americans. content creators who earn income on the app and potentially send users flocking to similar social media apps.

Democratic lawmakers are calling for an extension of the TikTok ban

The looming ban comes amid concerns from Biden and other US lawmakers that TikTok poses a serious national security threat, allowing China to collect data on Americans or manipulate content that people see.

But many lawmakers have been equally vocal in opposing the ban, which they argue would infringe on Americans’ freedom of speech.

Among them is Markey, who said Monday that he planned to introduce legislation to delay by another 270 days the January 19 deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban.

“TikTok creators and users across the country are understandably concerned. They are uncertain about the future of the platform, their accounts and the vibrant online communities they have cultivated,” Markey said in a statement. “These communities cannot be replicated on another app. A ban would dismantle a unique informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process.”

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Markey has also joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. by filing a two-pronged brief asking the US Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s decision to uphold a TikTok ban. In it shortargued the lawmakers that “there are less drastic measures that can effectively address data security problems without violating constitutional rights.”

“A ban on TikTok not only infringes on the freedom of speech of millions of Americans, but also endangers the livelihoods of creators and small business owners who use the app,” Khanna said in a statement. “We need laws to protect Americans’ data, but banning TikTok is not the answer.”

Can anyone buy TikTok?

Biden can extend the deadline by 90 days if he confirms that ByteDance is making significant progress toward a divestment, This was reported by Reuters.

While Reuters said it was unlikely that ByteDance could meet that standard, some have expressed interest in buying TikTok.

Project Liberty, an organization led by billionaire Frank McCourt, announced last week that it made a formal offer to ByteDance to buy TikTok’s US assets.

McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced last month that Project Liberty had secured verbal commitments of up to 20 billion dollars for the purchase. “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary announced last week that he was joining Project Liberty on the buyout plan.

If Project Liberty were to successfully buy TikTok, it would only be the US assets and not the algorithm that China considers intellectual property.

Supreme Court rules as Trump argues for delay

The Supreme Court heard arguments for two and a half hours on Friday about whether TikTok can be banned in the United States. By the end, the judges appeared poised to allow the US government to force TikTok’s Chinese parent to sell the company or go dark.

However, President-elect Donald Trump has urged the court to delay the deadline to give his administration time after taking office on Jan. 20 to pursue a policy decision. Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first administration, has since vowed to “save” it.

What happens if TikTok gets banned?

If the TikTok ban goes into effect on Sunday, new downloads on app stores like Apple and Google would no longer be possible.

While existing users can still access and use the app, they will not be able to update the app, which will likely degrade and stop working over time. The TikTok website would also become inaccessible through US-based internet hosting services.

Featured: Reuters