Ajit Karn
Washington: Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew confronted a barrage of hostile questions from legislators on both sides of the aisle regarding the video-sharing app’s alleged ties to China and its danger to adolescents.
The 40-year-old Singaporean was subjected to unusually intense interrogation by both Republicans and Democrats, who feared Beijing could subvert the site for espionage, data collection, and to covertly defend a Chinese Communist Party agenda.
The Harvard-educated former financier failed to defuse an existential threat to TikTok over the course of several arduous hours, as the app attempts to survive a White House ultimatum that it either separate from its Chinese ownership or be prohibited in the United States.
During the morning session of the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, legislators frequently denied Chew opportunities to elaborate on his responses or highlight the site’s immense global popularity among young people.
“ByteDance is a private company that is neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese government,” Chew told legislators in his opening remarks, referring to TikTok’s China-based parent company.
Chew added, “We believe that clear, transparent rules that apply broadly to all tech companies are necessary to address these concerns; ownership is not the central issue.”
A ban would be an unprecedented action by the US government against a media corporation, preventing 150 million monthly users in the country from accessing an application that has become a cultural colossus — particularly for young people.
“TikTok has repeatedly selected the path of increased control, surveillance, and manipulation. Your platform ought to be prohibited, said committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers at the start of the hearing.
The 150 million US TikTok users are “Americans about whom the CCP can collect sensitive information and ultimately control what we see, hear, and believe,” the Republican added, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
In a particularly awkward moment for Chew, he was compelled to admit that some Americans’ personal information was still subject to Chinese law, but he insisted that this would shortly change.
The US representatives also confronted Chew with harrowing examples of young users promoting suicide or dangerous antics that proved fatal and infuriated authorities worldwide.
“Your technology is literally causing death,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis as he pointed to a family in the audience whose son was killed in a railway accident that, according to the deceased’s family, was caused by TikTok.
Advisory from Beijing
Ahead of the hearing, the commerce ministry in Beijing stated that it would “strongly oppose” a forced sale and that any transaction or spin-off involving TikTok would require Chinese government approval.
“Forcing the sale of TikTok… will severely undermine the confidence of investors from all over the world, including China, to invest in the United States,” said spokesperson Shu Jueting.
TikTok is the target of multiple pieces of legislation, including one backed by the White House that paves the way for a ban on the app, and has united lawmakers across the political spectrum.
“Mr. Chew, welcome to the most bipartisan congressional committee. Republican congressman Buddy Carter stated, “We care about our national security, our economy, and our children, even if we don’t always agree on the best way to get there.”
On Wednesday, a group of approximately a dozen adolescents, instructors, and business owners demonstrated opposition to the proposed ban at the US Capitol.
“Are there alternative platforms available? Certainly — I’m on them. But none of them have the reach of TikTok,” @countrylather2020 told her 70,000 followers in a video recorded after her arrival in Washington, D.C.
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TikTok continues to seek approval from the authorities.
The management of U.S. data will be segregated into a U.S.-run division, per Chew’s testimony, which promoted the company’s elaborate Project Texas plan to address national security concerns.
However, legislators expressed skepticism about the initiative, stating that it would do nothing to alleviate their concerns that TikTok was vulnerable to China.
Democrat Congressman Darren Soto stated that TikTok must be an American company with American values and sever all connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
