Two U.S. senators are urging President Biden to extend TikTok's January 19th forced-sale deadline by 90 days, citing concerns over the tight timeline and potential consequences for users and creators.

Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) submitted a brief letter highlighting the critical nature of the situation. Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, TikTok must be sold by ByteDance or face a U.S. ban.

While TikTok plans to challenge the law before the Supreme Court on January 10th, the senators argue that ByteDance cannot realistically complete a divestiture by the current deadline, even if the Court rules in favor of the law's constitutionality.

The law allows the president to grant a one-time 90-day extension, provided three conditions are met:

• Identification of a qualified divestiture path
• Evidence of significant progress toward divestiture
• Existence of binding legal agreements for execution during the extension

The timing is particularly crucial as the deadline falls just one day before President-elect Trump's inauguration. While some reports question the president's ability to extend the deadline under the law's requirements, the senators argue that the stakes for free expression and TikTok's community justify the extension.

ByteDance has consistently maintained its position against selling TikTok, making the outcome of both the Supreme Court challenge and potential deadline extension increasingly significant for the platform's future in the United States.

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