FILE — TikTok, a global social media and entertainment app, now has over 1 billion users.
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, including Congressman Brett Guthrie, will question TikTok CEO Shou Chew during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday.
The hearing is called “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms.”
The hearing can be watched live at 10 a.m. ET HERE.
Chew will appear before the committee to testify on TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. It will be Chew’s first appearance before a congressional committee.
“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.
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,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).
The hearing could further influence lawmakers to tighten restrictions on the app or ban it. Kentucky lawmakers have passed a law to ban TikTok on all state-owned mobile devices.
Over 1 billion people use TikTok around the globe.
