TikTok CEO Shou Chew will appear before House Energy and Commerce Committee during the “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms” hearing on March 23, 2023 at 10 a.m. During the hearing, Chew will be asked to discuss the app’s “consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Americans deserve to know the extent to which their privacy is jeopardized and their data is manipulated by ByteDance-owned TikTok’s relationship with China. What’s worse, we know Big Tech companies, like TikTok, use harmful algorithms to exploit children for profit and expose them to dangerous content online,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairperson Cathy McMorris Rodgers said.
“We need to know what actions the company is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Chew directly and continuing Energy and Commerce’s efforts to bring Big Tech CEOs before the committee to answer for their companies’ destructive actions.”
Chew arrives on Capitol Hill as the nation’s government considers a potential ban of the app. Federal lawmakers are reportedly concerned about foreign entities accessing American user data for nefarious purposes. However, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have pushed back against these claims, saying that the app “is not an agent of China or any other country.” The app has also picked up the support of congressman Jamaal Bowman from New York.
“This is a space where these creators have found a platform to share their ideas, their inspirations, their thoughts, their voices with the rest of the country and the rest of the world. And why do we want to take that away?” Bowman asked.
“Why do we need to ban a platform that 150 million Americans now use?”
