TikTok CEO Appears Before US Congress Over Security Concerns

The Chinese social network TikTok is in the crosshairs of the United States Congress.

The CEO of the short video platform, Shou Zi Chew, faces this Thursday, March 23, an intense interrogation by the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives, at a time when they are evaluating banning the social network in the country for considering it a potential threat to national security.

The network and its parent company ByteDance, with more than 150 million US users, are facing allegations from lawmakers related to the alleged risk that the data of those who use their services will be shared with the Chinese government.

In addition, congressmen who oppose the application consider that it does not protect minors from possible harm through the platform.

“TikTok could be designed to minimize harm to children, but the decision was made to aggressively addict them in the name of profit,” House Democrat Kathy Castor said during the hearing.

For her part, representative Diana DeGette focused her questions on the CEO’s arguments to prevent the spread of misinformation on the platform.

“You have current controls, but the current controls are not working to keep this information away primarily from young people, but from Americans in general,” DeGette said.

Fears from Washington also center on the platform being used to promote pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation.

Shou Zi Chew, for his part, tries to show that the popular app should not be banned in the nation, arguing that it creates economic value and supports freedom of expression.

As the main defense mechanism, the TikTok representative appeals to its “rigorous” data protection program called ‘Project Texas’, with around 1,500 full-time employees to store the data of United States users. An initiative in which the company ensures that it has invested more than 1,500 million dollars.

The company also maintains that it thoroughly reviews content that could affect children.

But for the moment, the explanations of the TikTok representatives have not convinced the congressmen.

“It’s clear that TikTok will say anything to make sure it’s not banned in the United States,” Republican and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers previously told Fox News.

Why are security fears rising against TikTok?

One of the main warnings comes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Federal Communications Commission. Both point out that TikTok could share with the Chinese authorities both user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers.

Although this social network would not be the only one that collects large amounts of information from its subscribers, the US authorities emphasize that the company, based in Beijing, would be forced to give that information to the Government of their country under a privacy law. 2017, which obliges companies to deliver any type of personal data that is considered relevant to Chinese national security.

Concerns were raised last December when ByteDance said it fired four employees who accessed data from journalists at Buzzfeed News and The Financial Times while trying to trace the source of a leaked report about the company.

Washington has already taken the first steps. The White House has ordered federal agencies to remove TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices.

In this sense, Congress and the US military have already banned the application on the mobile devices of their employees.

Amid the accusations, the platform has tried to distance itself from alleged control by the Chinese authorities, maintaining that its parent company is 60% owned by global institutional investors such as the Carlyle Group.

“Let me say this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent for China or any other country,” Chew stressed in recent days.

But the fears do not only come from the United States. The European Parliament banned TikTok from its staff phones last February, following in the footsteps of two major European Union regulatory bodies and underscoring growing concerns about the Chinese short video-sharing app and who accesses user data.

The United Kingdom announced the same measure on March 16.

Reform for social networks instead of prohibition?

Some political experts point out that a ban on the Chinese social network could be detrimental to Democrats, who have used the platform to reach younger voters.

In fact, three legislators from that party in the House of Representatives met with the creators of TikTok on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 22, to demonstrate their rejection of the ban.

The Democratic congressman in the US Lower House, Jamaal Bowman, advocated for a reform in the legislation to address the security of social networks, leaving aside a stricter measure such as the veto.

“Why the hysteria, the panic and the orientation of TikTok? (…) Let’s do the right thing here: a comprehensive reform of social networks when it comes to privacy and security,” Bowman remarked.

Still, many more US lawmakers insist that the Chinese platform be banned.

Some experts point out that the social network is punctuated by the extensive geopolitical, commercial and technological battle between Washington and Beijing.

In fact, last week TikTok claimed that President Joe Biden’s Administration required its Chinese owners to sell their shares or else they would face a possible ban.

The hearing of its CEO before Congress also comes after the US Meta Platforms, parent company of Facebookwill report a new round of layoffs of 10,000 workers.

Among the reasons, the US company cited competition from firms such as TikTok that affects its financial results and the decline in online advertising.

With Reuters, AP and local media