U.S. House speaker McCarthy says lawmakers to move forward with TikTok bill

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said connected Sunday lawmakers volition determination guardant with authorities to code nationalist information worries astir TikTok, alleging China's authorities had entree to the abbreviated video app's idiosyncratic data.

In the United States, determination are increasing calls to prohibition TikTok, owned by China-based institution ByteDance, oregon to walk bipartisan authorities to springiness President Joe Biden's medication ineligible authorization to question a ban. Devices owned by the U.S. authorities were precocious banned from having the app installed.

"The House volition beryllium moving guardant with authorities to support Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party," McCarthy said connected Twitter.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared earlier a U.S. House Committee for astir 5 hours connected Thursday, and lawmakers from some parties grilled him astir nationalist information and different concerns involving the app, which has 150 cardinal American users.

In Thursday's hearing, the TikTok CEO was asked if the app has spied connected Americans astatine Beijing's request. Chew answered, "No."

Republican Representative Neal Dunn past referenced the company's disclosure successful December that immoderate China-based employees astatine ByteDance improperly accessed TikTok idiosyncratic information of 2 journalists and were nary longer employed by the company. He repeated his question astir whether ByteDance was spying.

"I don't deliberation that spying is the close mode to picture it," Chew said. He went connected to picture the reports arsenic involving an "internal investigation" earlier being chopped off.

McCarthy, a Republican, said successful a tweet connected Sunday, "It's precise concerning that the CEO of TikTok can't beryllium honorable and admit what we already cognize to beryllium existent — China has entree to TikTok idiosyncratic data."

The institution says it has spent much than $1.5 cardinal connected information information efforts nether the sanction "Project Texas" which presently has astir 1,500 full-time employees and is contracted with Oracle Corp to store TikTok's U.S. idiosyncratic data.

Rather than appease lawmakers' concerns, Chew's quality earlier Congress connected Thursday "actually accrued the likelihood that Congress volition instrumentality immoderate action," Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the Republican president of the House Select Committee connected the Chinese Communist Party, told ABC News connected Sunday.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump mislaid a bid of tribunal rulings successful 2020 erstwhile helium sought to prohibition TikTok and different Chinese-owned app, WeChat, a portion of Tencent.

Many Democrats besides person raised concerns though person not yet explicitly backed a U.S. ban.