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US Senators Urge Biden To Extend TikTok Deadline Amid Legal Battle

US Senators have urged Biden to extend TikTok’s January 19 deadline as the Supreme Court reviews its potential ban.

Joe Biden

Democratic Senator Ed Markey and Republican Senator Rand Paul on Thursday called on President Joe Biden to extend a looming January 19 deadline by 90 days, giving China-based ByteDance more time to sell the U.S. assets of its popular short-video app TikTok or face a potential ban.

The request comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on January 10 regarding TikTok and ByteDance’s legal challenge to the law requiring the sale or ban. The senators urged Biden to delay the deadline, citing concerns over the law’s implications for free expression. “Given the law’s uncertain future and its consequences for free expression, we urge you to trigger the 90-day extension before January 19,” they wrote.

The Supreme Court’s review follows a lower court ruling that upheld the law, which Congress passed in April and Biden signed into law shortly thereafter. The Justice Department argues that TikTok poses a “national-security threat of immense depth and scale,” citing the app’s access to sensitive data on American users and its potential to influence content. TikTok, which has 170 million American users, denies posing any immediate security risk and argues that the law violates free speech protections under the First Amendment.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has urged the Supreme Court to reject any delay, likening TikTok to a “hardened criminal.” Other lawmakers, including Republican Senator Josh Hawley and Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, insist ByteDance must comply with the law.

However, Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully sought to ban TikTok in 2020, has since softened his stance. During his recent presidential campaign, Trump promised to try to save TikTok, and this week expressed his support for the platform, saying that he has “a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.” Trump takes office on January 20, one day after the current TikTok deadline.

As the January 19 deadline approaches, the Biden administration faces mounting pressure from lawmakers and the public to determine TikTok’s future. The Supreme Court’s decision on the matter could set a significant precedent, influencing the balance between national security and free speech in the digital age. Meanwhile, TikTok and ByteDance remain locked in a high-stakes legal and political battle with profound implications for the app’s millions of American users.

Melissa Enoch

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