In this photo illustration a TikTok logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is headed to Congress to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to address questions about the social media platform's privacy and data security practices, its impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese government.
"ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data," Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash. 5th District) said in a press release. "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."
TikTok denied charges that it has shared personal information with the Chinese Communist Party. “We welcome the opportunity to set the record straight about TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we are making to address concerns about U.S. national security before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce," the company said in a statement.
Despite these claims, a number of state governments and universities have banned the use of TikTok on government-owned computer devices in recent weeks. Biden passed a similar ban for the federal government at the end of last year.
Rodgers noted that the hearing fits into the committee's recent pattern of scrutinizing Big Tech.
“We’ve made our concerns clear with TikTok,” she said. "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 hearing on March 23 will be Chew's first official visit to Capitol Hill. The executive has largely avoided the limelight since taking over in April 2021, while Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas has served as the company's public face in the U.S.
Skift airline reporter Meghna Maharishi breaks down how the government shutdown is hitting air traffic control—and what it means for travelers and flight safety
Aya Kantorovich, Co-CEO of August Digital, breaks down Bitcoin’s surge, crypto ETFs, institutional investment trends, and the future of safer crypto access.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
Sinead O’Sullivan breaks down Taylor Swift’s genius marketing for The Life of a Showgirl, which just set the record for most albums sold in a single week.
Markets are emerging from a turbulent Q3. Horizon’s Mike Dickson shares insights on interest rates, small caps, and where investors should look in Q4 and beyond
Bambu Ventures's Kyle Pretsch dives into Lemonaid’s $10M buyout, down from 23andMe’s $400M price tag, and what’s next after Chrome Co.’s dramatic pivot.
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
