TikTok CEO Shaw Zee Chu will appear before a congressional hearing in March. That’s what we know.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) confirmed that TikTok CEO will be testifying before the committee. The Commission will look for answers to questions about
TikTok’s practices regarding the privacy and security of consumer data, as well as the emphasis on its impact on children. The ownership of the ByteDance app and its relationship with the Communist Party of China (CPC) will also be examined. This will be Chu’s first appearance before a congressional committee.
“Big technologies are increasingly becoming a destructive force in American society. The Energy and Commerce Committee was at the forefront of asking the heads of major technology companies — from Facebook to Twitter and Google — to answer for the actions of their companies,” Rogers adds.
“These efforts will continue with TikTok. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, deliberately gave the Chinese Communist Party access to the data of American users. Americans deserve to know how these actions affect their privacy and data security, as well as what actions TikTok is taking to keep our children safe from harm online and offline.”
“We have clearly stated our concerns about TikTok. It’s time to continue the committee’s efforts to hold Big Tech accountable by bringing TikTok before the committee to give people full and honest answers,” concludes Rogers.
Hearings in the Energy and Trade Committee are scheduled for March 23, 2023. Meanwhile, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs plans to vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of TikTok in the United States. This will restrict access to TikTok on all devices in the United States, not just government devices, as current government and military bans are limited.
“We welcome the opportunity to speak directly about TikTok, ByteDance and the commitments we are making to address U.S. national security concerns before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce,” a TikTok spokesperson said. “TikTok hopes to share the details of our comprehensive plans with the entire committee; Congress may take a more balanced approach to the issues under consideration.”
