Three Democratic senators are calling on President Donald Trump to collaborate with Congress to prevent TikTok from being banned in the U.S. after April 5th.
Senators Ed Markey, Chris Van Hollen, and Cory Booker argue that Trump’s approach—delaying enforcement through executive action—puts TikTok’s service providers at risk of massive legal liability.
The law, passed overwhelmingly by Congress last year, required TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest the app by January 19th or face an effective U.S. ban. Trump extended the deadline by 75 days via executive order on his first day back in office, but the senators warn this move was both “unlawful” and impractical. The law penalizes service providers working with TikTok after the deadline, exposing them to up to $850 billion in liability.