Washington (January 16, 2025) - Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) held a press conference today announcing their 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 before facing a ban in the United States. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) also signed the letter.
In the letter the Senators write, “Over the past few days, it has become clear that, without action from you, TikTok will likely go dark on Sunday, with serious consequences for the 170 million Americans and 7 million businesses that rely on TikTok. A shutdown would be especially painful for creators in California who have been using the platform to share their stories and find resources during the tragic wildfires around Los Angeles. With Senate Republicans blocking legislation introduced this week to extend the TikTok divest-or-ban deadline and the Supreme Court, by all accounts, appearing unlikely to come to TikTok’s aid, your administration represents the last chance to avoid a TikTok shutdown on Sunday.”
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. Senators Markey and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Congressman Khanna, recently 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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