Advertisement
Senators urge Trump to seek authority from Congress for TikTok sale extension
Trump in January extended sale deadline to April 5 by delaying law requiring China’s ByteDance to sell majority stake to US owner or face ban
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Three Democratic senators on Monday urged the White House to seek authority from Congress to extend a deadline for China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok to safeguard the popular video sharing app from a potential ban.
Advertisement
US President Donald Trump in January unilaterally extended the sale deadline from January 19 to April 5 by postponing enforcement of a law passed last year that requires ByteDance to sell a majority stake to US owners or face a ban on the app in the United States.
Trump said last month that he could further extend that deadline to give himself time to shepherd a deal.
“This non-enforcement of the TikTok ban was not only unlawful but also raised serious questions about TikTok’s future,” wrote Senators Ed Markey, Chris Van Hollen and Cory Booker, urging the president to back legislation extending the deadline to October.
“The path to saving TikTok should run through Capitol Hill.”
Advertisement
The White House and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters reported last week that White House-led TikTok talks are coalescing around a plan for the biggest non-Chinese investors in ByteDance to up their stakes and acquire the app’s US operations, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
Advertisement