US Senators are urging Biden to extend the TikTok deadline in the midst of a legal dispute

The Supreme Court is currently reviewing TikTok’s potential suspension, and US Senators have encouraged Biden to extend the deadline of January 19th.

On Thursday, Democratic Senator Ed Markey and Republican Senator Rand Paul urged President Joe Biden to extend the January 19 deadline by 90 days. This extension would provide China-based ByteDance with additional time to divest the U.S. assets of its popular short-video app TikTok or risk a potential ban.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on January 10 regarding TikTok and ByteDance’s legal challenge to the law mandating the sale or prohibition, the request has been made. Senators implored Biden to postpone the deadline, citing their apprehensions regarding the law’s potential impact on free expression. They wrote, “We strongly encourage you to activate the 90-day extension prior to January 19, as the law’s future is uncertain and its implications for free expression are significant.”

Following a lower court judgment that upheld the law, which Congress passed in April and Biden signed into law shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court is conducting a review. Citing the app’s potential to influence content and its access to sensitive data on American users, the Justice Department contends that TikTok poses a “national-security threat of immense depth and scale.” Denying that it poses any imminent security threat, TikTok, which has 170 million American users, contends that the law infringes upon free speech protections under the First Amendment.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has urged the Supreme Court to deny any delay, comparing TikTok to a “hardened criminal.” Other legislators, such as Republican Senator Josh Hawley and Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, maintain that ByteDance is required to satisfy the legislation.

Nevertheless, Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully attempted to prohibit TikTok in 2020, has since moderated his stance.. Donald Trump pledged to save TikTok during his most recent presidential campaign and this week reiterated his endorsement of the platform, stating that he has “a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.” President Trump assumes office on January 20, one day following the current TikTok deadline.

As the January 19 deadline approaches, the Biden administration is under increasing pressure from the public and legislators to determine the future of TikTok. The Supreme Court’s decision on the matter could establish a significant precedent, potentially impacting the equilibrium between free speech and national security in the digital era. Simultaneously, TikTok and ByteDance continue to engage in a high-stakes legal and political dispute that has significant implications for the app’s millions of American users.