Two Democratic lawmakers called on Congress and President Joe Biden on Monday to postpone the Jan. 19 deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell its U.S. assets or face a ban on the app.
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in TikTok and ByteDance’s legal challenge to the law.
Noel Francisco, the companies’ lawyer, argued that completing a sale by the deadline would be impossible.
He warned that if TikTok is banned, the platform used by 170 million Americans would “essentially shut down” and go dark.
President Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he certifies that ByteDance is making substantial progress toward divestiture.
However, it is unlikely the company could meet such a requirement.
Senator Edward Markey announced plans to introduce legislation that would push the deadline back by an additional 270 days.
“A ban would dismantle a one-of-a-kind informational and cultural ecosystem, silencing millions in the process,” said Markey on Monday.
He added, “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.”
President-elect Donald Trump has also requested a delay, arguing that his administration should have time after Jan. 20 to seek a “political resolution” to the issue.
Representative Ro Khanna urged Biden and Trump to “pause this ban so 170 million Americans don’t lose their free speech.”
He warned, “Millions of Americans’ livelihood will be ended if this ban takes place.”
If the law is not blocked by Sunday, new downloads of TikTok on Apple or Google app stores would be banned.
Although existing users could still access the app temporarily, services would degrade and eventually cease as companies would be prohibited from offering support.
The White House has not commented on the matter.