TikTok CEO To Face Congress: What Will He Say?

Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of the popular social media app TikTok, is set to appear before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 23rd to address concerns regarding the Chinese Communist Party’s influence over the app. The app has been under heavy scrutiny for reportedly selling user data to the CCP for propaganda purposes and been criticized for the sexual exploitation of minors, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Tik­Tok’s chief ex­ec­u­tive, Shou Zi Chew has agreed to ap­pear be­fore a con­gres­sional com­mit­tee in March, as House Re­pub­li­can law­mak­ers step up scru­tiny of the Chi­nese-owned video-shar­ing app. https://t.co/6AkoU0s6n7

— Mathias Ssemanda (@MathiasSsemanda) January 30, 2023

Committee chair Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington said that “Big Tech” has become a “destructive force in American society” in a press release. She went on to say that ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data.

In response to these claims, a TikTok spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the company “welcome[s] the opportunity to set the record straight” and disputed Rodgers claims. The spokesperson stated that the Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok. They also noted that under the proposal devised with the country’s top national security agencies through CFIUS, any form of foreign influence over the TikTok platform in the United States would not be possible.

TikTok has taken steps to promote transparency within the app as a result of the increased concerns of the Chinese government’s interference. In January, the company announced a $1.5 billion plan to address these issues, according to the WSJ. Additionally, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution last week calling for a federal ban of TikTok on all government employee devices and encouraging citizens to get rid of the app on their personal phones, laptops and other electronics, according to Bloomberg.

The upcoming testimony from Shou Zi Chew is an important step in addressing these issues and providing clarity to the public. It is clear that there are serious concerns regarding the Chinese Communist Party’s influence over TikTok and how it affects user data and safety. With this hearing, lawmakers hope to gain a better understanding of how TikTok is responding to these issues and what measures they are taking to ensure user safety.

The preceding article is a summary of an article that originally appeared on The Daily Caller