Photo Credit: Árpád Czapp
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will appear before a Congressional hearing in March. Here’s what we know.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) confirmed TikTok’s CEO will testify before the committee. The committee will seek answers to questions about TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, as well as focusing on its impact on kids. The app’s ownership by ByteDance and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will also be explored. This will be Chew’s first appearance before any Congressional committee.
“Big Tech has increasingly become a destructive force in American society. The Energy and Commerce Committee has been at the forefront of asking Big Tech CEOs–from Facebook to Twitter to Google–to answer for their companies’ actions,” adds Rodgers.
“These efforts will continue with TikTok. ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data. Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security, as well as what actions TikTok is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms.”
“We’ve made our concerns clear with TikTok. It is now time to continue the committee’s efforts to hold Big Tech accountable by bringing TikTok before the committee to provide complete and honest answers for people,” Rodgers concludes.
The hearing of the Energy and Commerce Committee has been scheduled for March 23, 2023. Meanwhile, the House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of TikTok in the United States. This would limit access to TikTok across all devices within the United States—not just government devices as current state and military bans are limited.
“We 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,” says a TikTok spokesperson. “TikTok hopes by sharing details of our comprehensive plans wit the full committee; Congress can take a more deliberative approach to the issues at hand.”