Senate Democrats Seek Trump's Support for TikTok Extension Bill
President Donald Trump should work with Congress to extend the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok and potentially allow the company to continue operating in the U.S., Democratic senators wrote the White House on Monday.
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Trump in January signed an executive order (see 2501210067) directing DOJ not to enforce the TikTok divestment law for 75 days while the parties “determine the appropriate course forward.” Congress passed the measure forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok during the Biden administration. Members supported the bill over national security concerns and China’s alleged access to the personal data of American TikTok users.
Trump’s non-enforcement EO violates the law, which carries penalties of up to $850 billion for companies facilitating TikTok’s operation in the U.S., said Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. That includes companies like Oracle, Apple and Google, which provide cloud services, they said. The Trump administration is reportedly working with TikTok to strike a potential deal with Oracle.
The letter asks Trump to work with Senate Republicans to take up the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, a bill Democrats introduced that would extend the divestment deadline to October 2025. The White House didn’t comment Monday.