Massachusetts senator seeks extension of TikTok ban deadline

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) plans to do just that Introducing legislation TikTok ban deadline extended by 270 days. TikTok warned A closure looms in just five daysBut the new legislation, officially called the TikTok Deadline Extension Act, would give TikTok more time to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, if approved by Congress.

TikTok is currently expected to “go dark” on January 19, unless the Supreme Court steps in to delay the ban. the The Supreme Court is considering the banHe is expected to decide sometime this week whether the law behind the ban violates the First Amendment.

“As the January 19 deadline approaches, TikTok creators and users across the country are understandably concerned,” Markey said in a speech to the Senate on Monday. “They are unsure about the future of the platform, their accounts and the vibrant online communities they have grown. “These communities cannot be replicated in another app. A ban would dismantle a unique media and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process.

Markey noted that while TikTok has its issues and poses a “serious risk” to the privacy and mental health of young people, a ban “would impose severe consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood.”

Markey and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), along with Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17), recently filed a request Bipartisan amicus brief He urged the Supreme Court to overturn a D.C. Circuit Court decision that upheld the TikTok ban. The trio argued that banning TikTok conflicts with the First Amendment.