Fears that the Chinese government has gained access to American user data bring TikTok’s chief executive to Congress. The social network welcomes the opportunity, but denies any “control” by Beijing.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, will be heard by the US Congressional Committee on Commerce and Energy on March 23. The revelation comes at a time when scrutiny of the social network has increased due to US concerns that the platform, owned by China’s ByteDance, is being used as a spy tool in the service of Beijing.
In a statement quoted this Monday by the Reuters agency, the deputy Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the committee, defended that TikTok “knowingly allowed the Chinese Communist Party to access user data Americans”. Therefore, he considered that “Americans deserve to know” how this alleged access affected “their privacy and security” of their data.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers also wants to understand what TikTok has been doing to keep young people, especially minors, “safe from the dangers online and disconnected“. According to The Wall Street Journal, Shou Zi Chew should be asked about the alleged sharing of US user data, but also about the possibility of TikTok being used as a pro-China propaganda tool.
TikTok confirmed that the CEO voluntarily agreed to be heard by the Committee on Energy and Commerce, but guaranteed that “there is no truth in the statement by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers that she made US user data available to the Chinese Communist Party.” “The Chinese Communist Party has no direct or indirect control over ByteDance or on TikTok”, added a spokesperson for the social network, quoted by Reuters.
Still, the company welcomed the “opportunity to clarify” concerns related to ByteDance and US national security and to share “details of the comprehensive plans” it is outlining to address those same fears.
Monday’s news comes weeks after the US government banned TikTok on the mobile devices of federal employees over fears of eavesdropping. More recently, Brussels also threatened to ban the use of TikTok in the European Union if the social network does not prevent minors from accessing “life-threatening” videos.
FBI Warnings, Unauthorized Data Access, Bans, and Spying Fears. Is TikTok the end of the line in the US?
Source: Observadora
