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Lawmakers call for extension to TikTok ban timeline

Lawmakers have called for an extension on the timeline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or have the platform face a ban in the United States. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
1 of 3 | Lawmakers have called for an extension on the timeline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or have the platform face a ban in the United States. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is leading a bipartisan effort to give ByteDance more than to sell the U.S. portion of TikTok before Sunday's deadline.

Markey made comments on the Senate floor on Tuesday and said he planned to introduce legislation giving ByteDance an additional 270 days to act. Markey, along with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court asking it to reverse the ban against TikTok.

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Markey said creators have built businesses and vibrant online communities on TikTok which would be devastated by the ban.

"These communities cannot be replicated on another app," Markey said in a statement. "A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process.

"The stakes here are high. That's why I will soon introduce the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act to extend the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by an additional 270 days."

The Supreme Court, which heard arguments earlier this month, has yet to rule on the constitutionality of the law but it has been upheld at the district court and appeals court levels.

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Supporters argue that the wildly popular short video app used by millions of U.S. residents presents a security risk because the Chinese government has the ability to order ByteDance to turn over information about its users.

ByteDance, based in Beijing, has downplayed Chinese authority and said he has never been asked to share information with the Chinese government. The company said banning it violates First Amendment rights in theUnited States.

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