Senator says Trump cannot ignore law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by next year

FILE PHOTO: A man holding a phone walks past a sign of Chinese company ByteDance's app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, at the International Artificial Products Expo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 18, 2019. Picture taken October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chair of a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee said on Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump cannot ignore a law requiring Chinese-based TikTok to divest the short video app used by 170 million Americans by early next year.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who is holding a hearing on Chinese hacking incidents, noted that Congress passed a law in April requiring divestiture of the app by Jan. 19, unless President Joe Biden grants a one-time extension of up to 90 days. Trump has said he opposes a TikTok ban.

"He can't ignore the law," Blumenthal said. "If he wants to change the law, he can try, but I can tell him and tell the American people -- sentiment is pretty strong here in favor of that law."

(Reporting by David Shepardson)