US senators urge Trump to work with Congress to keep TikTok online

WASHINGTON

Three Senate Democrats urged US President Donald Trump on Monday to work with Congress on any potential resolutions to the TikTok ban.

In a letter to Trump, Senators Cory Booker, Edward Markey and Chris Van Hollen requested additional information on any efforts to keep TikTok online in the US ahead of an April 5 deadline.

“Under the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, ByteDance had until January 19 to either divest TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. In an executive order, President Trump directed the Department of Justice to not enforce the law for 75 days.

"This nonenforcement of the TikTok ban was not only unlawful but also raised serious questions about TikTok’s future, as the law imposes liability—up to $850 billion in fines—on companies for facilitating TikTok’s continued operations in the U.S.," they wrote.

"We have previously introduced legislation — the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act — that would extend the TikTok deadline to October 16, 2025, but Senate Republicans blocked passage of our bill.

"If you need additional time to complete a deal, we urge you to direct Senate Republicans to pass our legislation and provide the companies with legal certainty to keep TikTok online and in the app stores over the next few months," the lawmakers added.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would "probably" extend the deadline for the sale of the Chinese-owned social media app.

"We have a lot of interest in TikTok. And China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal, but they are going to play a role,” he said.