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# TikTok CEO to Seem Earlier than US Congress, as Stress Mounts on the Chinese language-Owned App

TikTok CEO to Seem Earlier than US Congress, as Stress Mounts on the Chinese language-Owned App

With a possible US ban looming, TikTok is scrambling to reassure US regulators that it’ll adjust to all necessities round transparency, and person information protections, which is able to see TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testify earlier than the Home Vitality and Commerce Committee on March twenty third, in his first-ever look earlier than a Congressional committee.

As reported by Axios:

“Chew will probably be requested about TikTok’s shopper privateness and information safety practices, the platforms’ affect on children, and their relationship with the Chinese language Communist Social gathering.”

The latter being the principle sticking level. Proper now, TikTok is underneath extra stress than ever, amid ongoing fears round how the app may very well be utilized as a spying gadget by the Chinese language Authorities, if the CCP have been to so select.

These fears stem from China’s strict cybersecurity rules, which stipulate that any Chinese language-owned firm must share inner information, together with info on customers, on request from CCP officers. There’s no proof to counsel that the CCP has made any such request of TikTok at this stage, however a current case noticed officers from TikTok proprietor ByteDance use the app to spy on US journalists whom it suspected of assembly with ByteDance workers.

That’s additional elevated scrutiny of the app, whereas on the similar time, a rising variety of US state officers are banning TikTok on government-owned gadgets on account of spying issues.

And the state of affairs may very well be set to get even worse for TikTok within the coming weeks.

Final week, Republican Senator Josh Hawley stated that he would quickly introduce a brand new invoice calling for a full ban of TikTok nationwide. Hawley has the help of a number of influential senators in his push, which is able to as soon as once more ramp up stress on the app, and will certainly see it face expulsion from the US earlier than the yr is out.

Which might be a devastating blow for ByeDance. TikTok is massively in style within the US, and presents huge income potential – whereas you may as well think about that if the US bans the app, different western areas will not less than think about following go well with.

Which all makes Shou Zi Chew’s upcoming look extra urgent, and it’ll be fascinating to see how he responds to questions on TikTok’s processes and plans within the March twenty third look.

That would properly be the inflection level, the place we get a clearer indication of the app’s future within the US.

Until then, TikTok will proceed to push forward with its $1.5 billion US reformation plan, which incorporates storing US person information on Oracle servers within the US.


Andrew Hutchinson
Content material and Social Media Supervisor

Supply

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