Some lawmakers are asking President Joe Biden and the US Supreme Court to take steps to prevent TikTok from being banned on Sunday under a law they argue would come at the expense of free speech for millions of Americans.
The Supreme Court heard a challenge to the law on Friday from TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance. As it became clear that the court appeared poised to uphold the law, which would require ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US assets by Jan. 19, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., announced that he plans to introduce legislation to extend the deadline.
The impending law, which would effectively lead to a ban on TikTok in the US if ByteDance is unable to meet the deadline, comes after President Joe Biden signed the legislation last spring on national security grounds. However, defenders of the popular app, which has 170 million US users, say the law violates the free speech protections of the US Constitution’s First Amendment.
Under a ban, TikTok would be illegal to distribute through the Apple App Store and Google Play, threatening the livelihoods of millions of Americans. content creators who earn revenue from the app and potentially send users who flock to similar social media apps.
Banning TikTok:What is the fate of TikTok? With the ban less than 1 week away, here’s what we know
Democratic lawmakers want to extend TikTok ban
The impending ban comes amid concerns from Biden and other US lawmakers that TikTok poses a serious national security threat, allowing China to collect data on Americans or manipulate the content people see.
But many lawmakers have been equally vocal in opposing the ban, which they argue would infringe on Americans’ freedom of expression.
Among them is Markey, who on Monday said he planned to introduce legislation to extend by an additional 270 days the Jan. 19 deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban.
“TikTok creators and users across the country are understandably alarmed. They are uncertain about the future of the platform, their accounts and the vibrant online communities they have cultivated,” Markey said in a statement. “These communities cannot be copied to another application. A ban would dismantle an informational and cultural ecosystem of sorts, silencing millions in the process.”
Markey also joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. in filing a bipartisan brief asking the US Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s decision to uphold a ban on TikTok. In summary, the lawmakers argued that “there are less drastic measures that can effectively address data security issues without infringing on constitutional rights.”
“Banning TikTok not only infringes on the free speech of millions of Americans, it also endangers the livelihoods of creators and small business owners who use the app,” Khanna said in a statement. “We need laws to protect Americans’ data. But banning TikTok is not the answer.”
Can anyone buy TikTok?
Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he proves that ByteDance is making significant progress toward a sale, Reuters reported.
While Reuters said ByteDance is unlikely to meet that standard, some have expressed interest in buying TikTok.
Project Liberty, an organization led by billionaire Frank McCourt, announced last week that it made a formal offer to ByteDance to buy TikTok’s US assets.
McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced last month that Project Liberty had secured verbal commitments of up to $20 billion for the acquisition. “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary announced last week that he was joining Project Liberty in the acquisition plan.
If Project Liberty were to successfully buy TikTok, it would only be US assets and not the algorithm, which China considers intellectual property.
Supreme Court to rule as Trump argues for delay
The Supreme Court heard arguments for two and a half hours on Friday on whether TikTok can be banned in the United States. In the end, the judges appeared willing to allow the US government to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the company or go dark.
President-elect Donald Trump, however, has asked the court to extend the deadline to give his administration time after taking office on January 20 to pursue a political solution. Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first administration, has since promised to “save” it.
What happens if TikTok is banned?
If the TikTok ban goes into effect on Sunday, new downloads on app stores like Apple and Google will no longer be possible.
While existing users can still access and use the app, they will not be able to update the app, which will likely degrade and stop working over time. TikTok’s website will also be made unavailable through US-based web hosting services.
Contributed by: Reuters
