TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will witness(Opens in a new window) in a congressional hearing that will take place on March 23.
The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday announced the appearance of the committee passing Press Release(Opens in a new window).
TikTok’s relationship with its China-based parent company, Bytedance, has come under close scrutiny in recent years. Recent US federal government forbidden(Opens in a new window) Mobile viral video app from government issued devices.
While many such congressional hearings on Big Tech have focused on multiple companies or platforms in the industry, this will be a highly focused hearing on TikTok. The hearing will focus on “TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platform’s impact on children, and their relationship with the Chinese Communist Party,” the statement said. said.
The Trump administration tried to completely ban the TikTok app from the US in 2020 but was denied blocked do so at that time. To help alleviate concerns from lawmakers about the safety of US users, TikTok cooperate(Opens in a new window) with Oracle to route US traffic through the US-based company’s servers.
Republicans in Congress have continued to keep an eye on TikTok due to its relationship with China-based Bytedance. With Republicans now in control of the House, one of their first business mandates appears to be to take on the video platform that is hugely popular with young people in the United States.
This won’t be the first time TikTok has appeared before Congress because the company has send representative to testify in the prior hearing. However, this marks the first appearance of its CEO.
UPDATE: Jan 30, 2023, 5:09 p.m. EST TikTok released a statement regarding the hearing with Mashable. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said: “We welcome the opportunity to speak candidly about TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we are making to address US national security concerns. Session before the House Energy and Commerce Committee”. “We hope that by sharing the details of our comprehensive plans with the entire Commission, Congress can take a more cautious approach to current affairs.”
