TikTok may be granted a 270-day extension to conclude a deal that would allow the platform to continue operating in the United States. Senator Ed Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts) announced his intention to submit a bill aimed at postponing the ban on the application, The Verge reports.
The TikTok Extension Act, if approved by Congress, would postpone the January 19 deadline for TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The bill does not repeal the original law - the "Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act"- but gives TikTok more time to negotiate a sale or resolve regulatory issues. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on whether the original law violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but many legal experts predict that the court will likely not side with TikTok.
On Monday, during a speech in the Senate, Markey acknowledged the problems with the platform, but called for avoiding a ban. “TikTok has its problems,” he noted, “But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
Markey's position is in line with the efforts of a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who are speaking out in support of TikTok creators and users. In December, Markey, along with Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court arguing that the law targeting TikTok does not stand up to First Amendment scrutiny. The lawmakers noted that concerns about the Chinese government's influence and data security could be addressed by less drastic measures than a complete ban. “Its principal justification —preventing covert content manipulation by the Chinese government —
reflects a desire to control the content on the TikTok platform and in any event could be achieved through a less restrictive alternative,” the statement reads.
While the potential extension gives TikTok more time, it doesn't eliminate the main problem: ByteDance will still have to decide whether to sell the platform to another company that is not under Chinese control. Although several potential buyers have expressed interest, it remains unclear whether the Chinese government would agree to a sale - although recent insights suggest that such an option is being considered, including a sale to Elon Musk.