Published , by Morgan Shaver
Published , by Morgan Shaver
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23. With this hearing, Chew will answer questions on topics such as the app’s security and privacy practices, as well as TikTok’s ties to China through parent company ByteDance.
The upcoming appearance by Chew in March will mark their first time appearing before a congressional panel, as reported by outlets like CNBC. In a statement from a TikTok spokesperson, they note that they “welcome the opportunity to set the record straight about TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we are making to address concerns about U.S. national security before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.”
The spokesperson also denounces claims from E&C Chair Cath McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) that allege TikTok knowingly making U.S. user data “available to the Chinese Communist Party” with the spokesperson asserting that “the Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok.”
The hearing comes on the heels of TikTok’s ongoing negotiations with the U.S. government in regards to app security, with TikTok working with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to determine if “certain risk mitigation measures are adequate to dampen national security concerns” as elaborated on by CNBC.
While we wait to see how the hearing with CEO Shou Zi Chew will go in March, be sure to read through some of our other TikTok-related coverage including a FCC Commissioner saying that the U.S. government should ban TikTok, and how one-quarter of U.S. adults under 30 are said to get their news from TikTok as reported back in October of 2022.