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TikTok CEO to testify before House as Congress considers banning the app
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March, as U.S. lawmakers continue to amass security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app.
Committee Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) announced in a press release Monday that Chew will appear in Congress on March 23. It will be the CEO's first time in front of an American 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," Rodgers said. "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."
Chew will speak on a variety of topics, including TikTok's consumer privacy practices, as well as the app's official relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
Chew's testimony will come as TikTok faces increasing scrutiny from both sides of the congressional aisle about the app's purpose in the American market. Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok has faced accusations that the app could transmit U.S. data directly to China.
However, a TikTok spokesperson told CNBC, "There is no truth to Rep. McMorris Rodgers' claim that TikTok has made U.S. user data available to the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok."
Despite this, the House Foreign Affairs Committee still plans to vote next month on banning TikTok in the U.S.