Senate Blocks Bill to Give ByteDance More Time to Sell TikTok
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., tried unsuccessfully April 9 to persuade the Senate to take up and pass a bill that would give China’s ByteDance about six more months to comply with a law requiring the company to divest TikTok.
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When Markey asked the Senate to approve the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act under a “unanimous consent” procedure, Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., both objected, effectively blocking the proposal.
Markey’s bill would give ByteDance until Oct. 16 to find a buyer for TikTok (see 2501140005 and 2503240060). While a 2024 law required ByteDance to sell TikTok by Jan. 19 or face a U.S. ban on the popular social media application, President Donald Trump has twice granted a 75-day extension to allow more time for a divestiture deal to be reached (see 2504040062). But Markey argued that Trump doesn’t have the legal authority to extend the deadline, so congressional action is needed.
However, Cotton countered that Congress should give Trump time to negotiate a deal with ByteDance. "President Trump is trying to implement the law that Congress passed, and many American businesses and investors are apparently interested in buying TikTok," he said.
Cotton cautioned that he would oppose a deal that some potential buyers are reportedly seeking "that would violate the law by letting Communist China continue to influence the TikTok algorithm." Ricketts agreed, saying, "The law is very clear. TikTok needs to be sold to an American owner to continue operation, not some half-baked plan ... where the Chinese Communist Party would still have influence on the TikTok algorithm, still have the ability to push their propaganda to the American people. That cannot happen."