The politicians who banned TikTok are now trying to save it

Deadline January 19 For On Tik Tok It’s fast approaching, but a social video app could be given a lifeline. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) I plan to introduce a bill this could give TikTok some extra time.

Specifically, Markey’s “TikTok Renewal Act” does not repeal the original bill to ban the app entirely, but simply gives TikTok an additional 270 days to comply with its demands and divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Given TikTok’s dwindling reach, if it fails to sway the Supreme Court, that’s the best hope the app really has.

“Let me be clear: TikTok has its problems. Like any social network, TikTok poses serious risks to the privacy and mental health of our youth,” Senator Markey said in a speech announcing the new bill. “But banning TikTok would have serious consequences for the millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and economic livelihoods. We cannot allow this.” For context, Markey voted for the ban last April.

TikTok’s attempts to circumvent the ban have so far been unsuccessful.

The Supreme Court case is also still awaiting decision

Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act The law, signed in April 2024, requires ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19, 2025. Instead of complying with the law, TikTok first tried to sell TikTok. appeal thisand failed. Then it tried file an injunction suspend a ban that has not been approved. Finally this took the case to the Supreme Courtwhere the company’s legal arguments against the ban were heard on January 10. TikTok’s argument rests largely on the idea that the ban bill violates the American company’s First Amendment rights, which some judges on the court appeared skeptical of. in accordance with SCOTUBlog.

The bill, which gives TikTok more time, won’t necessarily save the company, but it does give it more options after President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025. During his first term Trump was a major supporter about banning TikTok, but his tone changed ahead of his second term. He has urged the Supreme Court to rule in TikTok’s favor, and he could try to overturn the ban once he takes office, either by asking Congress to repeal the bill imposing the ban or by pushing the U.S. Justice Department not to enforce the ban. ban and fine US app stores for allowing TikTok downloads.

The story could be very different if the Supreme Court rules in TikTok’s favor, but until that happens (which is increasingly unlikely), more time to get out of the ban isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just requires the rest of Congress to agree with Senator Markey.