Massachusetts senator seeks to extend deadline for TikTok ban

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) plans introduce legislation extend the TikTok ban by 270 days. TikTok warned about impending closure in just five daysbut the new legislation, officially called the TikTok Deadline Extension Act, would give TikTok more time to exit its Chinese parent company ByteDance if it is approved by Congress.

TikTok is expected to go dark on January 19 unless the Supreme Court intervenes and delays the ban. Supreme Court considers banand is expected to decide sometime this week whether the law underlying the ban violates the First Amendment.

“As the January 19 deadline approaches, TikTok creators and users across the country are understandably anxious,” Markey said in testimony on the Senate floor Monday. “They are unsure about the future of the platform, their accounts and the vibrant online communities they have built. “These communities cannot be replicated in another application. A ban would destroy a one-of-a-kind information and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions of people.”

Markey said that while TikTok has its problems and poses “serious risks” to the privacy and mental health of young people, a ban “would have serious consequences for the millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and economic livelihoods.”

Markey and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), along with Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), recently introduced note of bipartisan understanding calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the D.C. District Court’s decision that upheld TikTok’s ban. The trio argued that banning TikTok violated the First Amendment.