Tiktok Inc. CEO Shou Zi Chew speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP. The parent company of Bloomberg News. Photographer: Brian van der Beek / Bloomberg via Getty Images
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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before a House panel on March 23 about the app’s security and privacy practices and its ties to China through parent company ByteDance.
House Energy and Commerce Committee announced hearing on Monday, saying it would be Chew’s first appearance before a congressional panel.
“TikTok, owned by ByteDance, knowingly allowed the Chinese Communist Party the ability to access American user data,” E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said in a statement. “Americans deserve to know how these actions affect their privacy and data security, as well as what steps TikTok is taking to keep our children safe from harm online and offline.”
The hearing’s announcement comes as the company’s talks with the US government about how to secure its apps in the country continue. TikTok is working with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which may determine whether certain risk mitigation measures are sufficient to mitigate national security concerns.
Still, those talks have reportedly delayed At least as of last month, as officials continue to worry about the implications of the app’s ownership by Chinese parent company ByteDance. That’s because Chinese based companies can be forced to give data At the request of the government there. In the past, TikTok has assured US officials and lawmakers that it does not store US user data in China to reduce that risk, but it has done little to quell the fear,
Fears about TikTok’s national security and privacy implications for consumers have run rampant on both sides of Congress, and spread from the Trump administration to the Biden administration.
parliamentarians Tiktok ban on government equipment passed in a year-end legislative package, citing security fears. A spokesperson for TikTok called the bill’s passage “a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests,” adding in a statement at the time that the agreement CFIUS was reviewing was “meaningful.” Will formally address any security concerns that have been raised.” both the federal and state level.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the House hearing.