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CEO
Shou Zi Chew's testimony before Congress will also cap a week of
actions by the Chinese company aimed at convincing Americans and
their lawmakers that the app creates economic value and supports
free speech.
TikTok, which has more than 150 million Americans users, has
faced sharp accusations that its U.S. user data would be shared
with the Chinese government and that it fails to adequately
protect children from harm.
TikTok has said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on what it
calls rigorous data security efforts under the name "Project
Texas" that currently has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and
is contracted with Oracle to store TikTok’s U.S. user data. It
also says it rigorously screens content that could harm
children.
The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee
hearing will be chaired by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican
who says she is unconvinced by TikTok's security commitments.
"It's clear that TikTok will say anything to...ensure that it is
not banned in the United States," she told Fox News.
Some political experts say a TikTok ban could be damaging to
Democrats who have used the platform to reach younger voters.
Three House Democrats rallied with TikTok creators on Capitol
Hill on Wednesday in opposition to a ban.
"Why the hysteria and the panic and the targeting of TikTok?"
asked Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, at
a news conference. "Let's do the right thing here -
comprehensive social media reform as it relates to privacy and
security."
Still, far more U.S. lawmakers want TikTok banned. Last week,
TikTok said President Joe Biden's administration demanded its
Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential ban.
"Restricting access to a speech platform that is used by
millions of Americans every day would set a dangerous precedent
for regulating our digital public sphere more broadly," said
Jameel Jaffer, Knight First Amendment Institute executive
director at Columbia University.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner said on Wednesday two additional
senators backed his bipartisan legislation with Republican John
Thune to give the Biden administration new powers to ban TikTok
- raising the total to 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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