While many members of Congress use other American social media platforms to communicate with constituents and voters, just a handful on Capitol Hill post videos on TikTok. Instead, committee members of both parties have attacked TikTok executives for their ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and they have played videos from the app that promote violence, bad medical advice and self-harm. Warner and Thune said Wednesday that the number of co-sponsors of their bill had grown to 20.Īn indication of how few supporters TikTok has in Congress: Not a single member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has defended the social media giant nearly two hours into this hearing. The RESTRICT Act would give the Commerce Department the authority to restrict or ban technologies like TikTok that are produced in one of six adversarial countries, including China, and are found to pose a national security threat. When it comes to cracking down on TikTok, President Joe Biden has endorsed bipartisan legislation, authored by Warner and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. ET tonight on “The Chinese Communist Party’s Ongoing Uyghur Genocide,” a topic that has come up several times during this hearing. It holds its second prime-time hearing at 7 p.m. The select House committee on China competitiveness had a strong first hearing last month on threats from Beijing. With a divided Congress, competing with China - militarily, economically and technologically - is one of the few areas in which lawmakers of both parties believe they can find bipartisan agreement. Today’s hearing is part of a broader effort in Congress to scrutinize and combat the Chinese Communist Party. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., if ByteDance is a “Chinese company,” Chew would not give a straight answer.Ĭardenas replied that he wished Chew would stop “dancing verbally,” a nod to the viral dances that has made TikTok one of the most popular apps on our phones. Later, asked if TikTok supports genocide, Chew said, "No."Īsked by Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., asked Chew repeatedly if he believed that the Chinese government was persecuting the Uyghur population.Ĭhew would not directly answer, instead saying he was concerned about all human rights abuses. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., asked how much he personally earns from leading the social media giant, Chew said he preferred not to say. Chew replied that it’s a “high-profile” hearing and that people from around the world had wished him well. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, asked Chew if China-based parent ByteDance had helped him prepare for the hearing. Lawmakers were almost universally critical of the app.Ĭhew has dodged and danced around questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike at today’s hearing, and some are calling him out. Members appeared skeptical of Chew's testimony, with a few warning him against lying to the committee.are active TikTok users, underscoring how entrenched the app has become in the three years Washington has sought to rein it in. He also noted that 150 million people in the U.S. Chew said in his opening statement that TikTok is safe and secure and that it shouldn't be banned.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters during the hearing that he'd back a ban. Congress and President Joe Biden are looking at ways to crack down on the app, including a potential U.S.Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and ranking member, Rep. The hearing was led by the committee chair, Rep. Members grilled Chew, citing concerns about privacy for Americans' data, protections for children online and TikTok's connection to the Chinese Communist Party.TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee for roughly five hours.And what we really need is comprehensive privacy laws in the United States to protect all Americans from all the tech companies that would want to leverage their data.What to know about today's TikTok hearing That said, as I mentioned at the outset, young users or whomever who is using TikTok should be aware that their privacy is not adequately protected. So, I just don't know that TikTok is the most efficient, plausible way for the Chinese government to spy on Americans. The way that TikTok could be useful would be to get an aggregate sense of American mood or understanding what Americans' patterns are trying to understand us as a people, or the young users.īut the Chinese government could just as easily - there are data brokers who are happy to share information about Americans with whoever pays them, including China. And so, if the Chinese government wanted to get a hold of an individual's data, they wouldn't have to rely upon TikTok. So, first of all, the Chinese intelligence sector has perhaps the most advanced or the second most advanced spying capabilities in the world. And let me - let me say a little bit about why.
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