Senator Markey calls on White House to prevent TikTok ban

Boston (January 18, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today released the following statement, one day before TikTok is set to go dark.

“Today, I am once again urging the Biden administration to take steps to ensure that TikTok does not go dark tomorrow,” said Senator Markey. “I have been hearing from creators, businesses, and communities in Massachusetts and across the country who are worried that a TikTok ban will make it harder to afford groceries, pay their rent, and seek medical care, and will shut off their virtual spaces for expression. The White House must step in and prevent TikTok from being banned tomorrow.”

On January 16, 2025, Senator Markey, along with Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to trigger the 90-day extension in the Protection Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to allow ByteDance additional time to divest from TikTok. On January 15, 2025, Senators Markey, Booker, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Congressman Khanna (CA-17) introduced the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, legislation that would delay the January 19 deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban, by an additional 270 days.

In December 2024, Senators Markey and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Congressman Khanna, submitted a bipartisan, bicameral amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. Circuit Court's decision in TikTok Inc. v. Garland, which upheld the TikTok ban established under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. On December 19, Senators Markey and Paul sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to provide TikTok owner ByteDance with a 90-day extension to either sell TikTok or face the ban.

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