TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the House Energy & Commerce Committee to address the company’s privacy and data practices.
TikTok is under fire on all sides, with multiple states and government entities banning the app from government-owned devices. Legislation has been introduced to ban the app from the US entirely, and the EU has signaled it may do the same if TikTok fails to comply with regulation.
Read more: Europe Is Finally Going After TikTok
The Energy & Commerce Committee wants answers from TikTok’s CEO — his first appearance before a Congressional committee — about how the company intends to address the myriad privacy and data concerns regarding it. The committee also wants answers regarding TikTok’s ties to Beijing.
“Big Tech has increasingly become a destructive force in American society,” said Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers. “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. These efforts will continue with TikTok. ByteDance-owned 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. We’ve made our concerns clear with TikTok. It is now time to continue the committee’s efforts to hold Big Tech accountable by bringing TikTok before the committee to provide complete and honest answers for people.”
The CEO is scheduled to testify on March 23, 2023.
