1 year ago
71 TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew reacts during a league for him to attest earlier a House Energy and Commerce Committee proceeding entitled "TikTok: How Congress tin Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms," arsenic lawmakers scrutinize the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, March 23, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
"Welcome to the astir bipartisan committee successful Congress," boomed Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., speaking to the TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, a mates hours into a marathon proceeding astir the imaginable menace to U.S. consumers from the massively fashionable short-form video app.
"We whitethorn not ever hold connected however to get there, but we attraction astir our nationalist security, we attraction astir our system and we definite arsenic heck attraction astir our children," Carter said.
Chew recovered small reprieve during the questioning from either broadside of the aisle connected Thursday. Lawmakers grilled him connected the app's imaginable to harm kids done its addictive features and perchance unsafe posts, arsenic good arsenic whether information from U.S. users could extremity up successful the hands of the Chinese authorities done its China-based owner, ByteDance.
After much than 5 hours of questioning, it's wide that lawmakers connected the committee are not satisfied with TikTok's existent ownership structure, adjacent if not each of them are calling for a afloat ban. But Chew's grounds did not quell galore concerns that lawmakers had astir its connections to China oregon the adequacy of its hazard mitigation plan, Project Texas, In immoderate cases, it whitethorn adjacent supply fodder for those who judge the hazard from TikTok is unacceptable.
"I've not been reassured by thing you've said truthful acold and I deliberation rather frankly your grounds has raised much questions for maine than answers," Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., said astatine 1 constituent successful the hearing.
It's not wide however Thursday's proceeding volition construe into action. But respective members seemed focused connected passing a broad integer privateness bill, similar the 1 the sheet approved past Congress but ne'er made it to the level for a afloat enclosure vote. That benignant of authorities would assistance resoluteness information privateness concerns that beryllium crossed each tech companies, including U.S. businesses similar Meta, Google, Twitter and Snap.
Congress has been mulling specified a measure for years with nary results. Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., said this was the 32nd proceeding Congress has held connected privateness and Big Tech.
A prohibition oregon forced merchantability of the app, which immoderate members deliberation is the lone mode to lick the contiguous risks, is different matter. The Committee connected Foreign Investment successful the U.S. (CFIUS) is reviewing ByteDance's acquisition of TikTok's predecessor app, Musical.ly. It could urge that the president unit divestment if members can't hold connected an acceptable alternate to mitigate nationalist information risks.
Or, the authorities could find different ways to effort to prohibition the app. For example, the bipartisan RESTRICT Act introduced successful the Senate would springiness the Commerce Secretary the quality to reappraisal exertion from overseas adversary countries and urge the president prohibition the exertion if the risks can't beryllium appropriately mitigated.
In 1 peculiarly melodramatic infinitesimal connected Thursday, Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., played a video she recovered connected TikTok showing what appeared to beryllium an animated weapon continuously reloading with the caption "Me asf astatine the, House Energy and Commerce Committee connected 3/23/23." TikTok removed the video astatine immoderate constituent during the hearing.
TikTok downplayed the value of Thursday's proceeding successful a statement.
"Shou came prepared to reply questions from Congress, but, unfortunately, the time was dominated by governmental grandstanding that failed to admit the existent solutions already underway done Project Texas oregon productively code industry-wide issues of younker safety," TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said. "Also not mentioned contiguous by members of the Committee: the livelihoods of the 5 cardinal businesses connected TikTok oregon the First Amendment implications of banning a level loved by 150 cardinal Americans."
Clarity connected China connections
Chew began his opening remarks by sharing details of his inheritance and the countries to which he's been connected. Chew said, he's lived successful Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. Like him, his parents were calved successful Singapore and his woman was calved successful Virginia.
Notably, China wasn't connected the list.
But during the hearing, lawmakers drilled down into TikTok's transportation to China done its genitor company.
While TikTok precocious recovered a fewer allies connected Capitol Hill, lawmakers connected the House Energy and Commerce Committee did not show a akin level of sympathy toward the app. On Wednesday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., likened the absorption connected TikTok to a "red scare" implicit China, but galore of his Democratic colleagues connected Thursday seemed profoundly acrophobic astir information risks stemming from TikTok's Chinese ownership.
Throughout the hearing, the lawmakers interrogated Chew astir the quality of China-based ByteDance employees to entree U.S. data, its nonaccomplishment to region immoderate unsafe oregon harmful posts and whether it's interacted oregon aligned with the Chinese Communist Party.
Chew denied that TikTok shares information with the Chinese Communist Party. He said the institution doesn't person a argumentation to inquire idiosyncratic employees astir their enactment affiliations successful China, but that ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo is not a subordinate of the party.
A cardinal question for members of the committee seemed to beryllium whether TikTok could uphold American values portion being a subsidiary of a Chinese company. Lawmakers and quality officials fearfulness that Chinese authorities officials could entree U.S. idiosyncratic information from ByteDance done a Chinese instrumentality that allows officials to get institution accusation for purported nationalist information reasons.
"We bash not spot TikTok volition ever clasp American values — values for freedom, quality rights, and innovation," said Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R.-Wash., who supports a TikTok ban, successful prepared remarks.
"TikTok needs to beryllium an American institution with American values and extremity its ties to the Chinese Communist Party," Rep. Darren Soto, R-Fla., aboriginal echoed.
Chew admitted that China-based employees tin inactive entree immoderate U.S. data, but that caller information volition halt flowing erstwhile the steadfast finishes deleting information from its Singapore and Virginia-based servers arsenic portion of its Project Texas mitigation plan.
But respective members said they deliberation the task is inactive inadequate to support American data.
"I don't find what you suggested with Project Texas and this firewall that's being suggested to whoever volition beryllium acceptable to me," Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said. "I inactive judge that the Beijing communist authorities volition inactive power and person the quality to power what you do."
It didn't assistance that The Wall Street Journal reported that China said it would reason a forced merchantability of TikTok, saying that it would impact an export of technology.
"Despite your assertions to the contrary, China surely thinks it is successful power of TikTok and its software," said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, pointing to the article.
Burgess and others besides asked Chew astir his mentation and whether ByteDance emloyees were progressive successful getting him acceptable for the hearing. Chew said TikTok's squad successful D.C. helped him prep.
Later, Chew told Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., that TikTok shares ineligible counsel with ByteDance. Griffith said nether that arrangement, "there is nary firewall, legally" since those lawyers could stock accusation with each other.
When Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., asked if the Chinese authorities has persecuted the Uyghur number radical successful the country, Chew sought to redirect the treatment backmost to TikTok.
"While it's profoundly concerning to perceive astir each accounts of quality rights abuse, my relation present is to explicate what our level does," Chew said.
Later, erstwhile Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, asked if TikTok supports genocide, Chew again sought to bring the speech backmost to TikTok Asked again, Chew answered that no, it does not.
Toward the extremity of the hearing, Chew expressed that his grounds was attempting to bash thing astir impossible. Referencing a study that members brought up from the University of Toronto-based Citizen Lab, Chew said, "Citizen Lab is saying that they cannot beryllium a negative, which is what I person been trying to bash for the past 4 hours."
