BURSTSens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) urged President Biden on Thursday to grant TikTok a 90-day extension to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban.
The pair emphasized the current deadline is set for Jan. 19, the day before a new administration takes office, and the Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments on the case for Jan. 10.
“The stakes here are high: As a practical matter, even if the Court rules that the law is constitutional by the January deadline, ByteDance cannot divest TikTok in that limited time,” the senators wrote.
“Consequently, absent a judicial injunction, decision overturning the law, or action by you, TikTok will soon be banned in the United States, causing its creators and users serious hardship,” they continued.
The law gave ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, 270 days to divest from the popular video-sharing platform. However, the president can grant the company an additional 90 days to complete a sale.
Markey and Paul have both previously voiced opposition to the divest-or-ban law.
After a federal appeals court upheld the law earlier this month, the senators wrote in a joint statement that the decision was “disappointing” and represented a “serious threat to TikTok and its users’ constitutional rights across the country.”
“Congress pushed through this law with limited debate about its impact on TikTok’s diverse base of users and creators and their rights,” they said. “As public support for the ban wanes, we urge Congress to reconsider the law and intend to work with our colleagues to do so.”
The law passed Congress in April as part of a larger foreign aid package. Markey voted for the package, while Paul did not vote.
TikTok sued the government in May, arguing the law violated the First Amendment. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected its challenge this month, the platform filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court to delay the law.
The Supreme Court announced Wednesday it would take up TikTok’s case on the merits, scheduling oral arguments for early next month. The speedy timeline gives the court an opportunity to rule before the original Jan. 19 deadline.
The impending ban comes as President-elect Trump is set to take office on Jan. 20. Trump has voiced support for TikTok and vowed on the campaign trail to “save” the app, although he has yet to offer more details about his plans.
The president-elect said Monday that he would “take a look,” when asked whether he would prevent the ban from going into effect next month.
“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, claiming he “won youth by 34 points, and there are those that say that TikTok had something to do with it.”