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For practically 5 hours, Congress members of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over issues in regards to the platform’s dangers to minor security, information privateness, and nationwide safety for American customers.
“The American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa.) mentioned in her opening assertion, concluding that “TikTok is a weapon.”
Rodgers steered that even for Americans who’ve by no means used the app, “TikTok surveils us all, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is able to use this as a tool to manipulate America as a whole.”
In his testimony, Chew defended TikTok’s $1.5 billion answer to those issues, Project Texas, as a extra applicable measure than forcing a sale of TikTok from its proprietor, China-controlled ByteDance, or banning TikTok within the US. Chew mentioned that with Project Texas, TikTok has launched an “unprecedented” effort to be extra clear about its algorithm and information assortment than another large tech firm.
“American companies don’t have a good track record with data privacy,” Chew reminded the committee whereas repeatedly telling Congress members that the questions that that they had about TikTok mirrored industry-wide issues that go nicely past one app.
Chew additionally mentioned that he’s seen “no evidence” that Project Texas—which he mentioned would guarantee TikTok information is behind a US firewall and out of China’s attain—doesn’t tackle Congress’ nationwide safety issues. However, he refused to touch upon a whistleblower report from Tech Workers Coalition, the place a TikTok content material moderator confirmed certainly one of Congress’ worst suspicions: that ByteDance has entry to person information that might be used to trace and spy on Americans.
But Congress members like Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.)—who mentioned he has extra in depth expertise with Internet applied sciences than a lot of his committee colleagues—led a swarm of Congress members disputing that Project Texas was the cure-all that Chew claimed. Obernolte mentioned that, in his opinion, it was not “technically possible” for Project Texas to maintain American person information out of China’s attain. Not solely might nefarious actors working inside Project Texas doubtlessly entry person information for China, but additionally there are issues that if TikTok is just not absolutely clear about its information gross sales, China might doubtlessly buy US person information.
Because The Wall Street Journal reported that China has acknowledged that it’ll act to cease the compelled sale of TikTok, Chew was pressed on how concerned China—and the CCP—could be in TikTok operations and whether or not he thought China had the ability to cease a sale. Chew didn’t straight deny that China might step in.
After being known as “evasive” throughout his testimony by a number of committee members, Chew shared some insights into TikTok-China connections, confirming that he straight reviews to China-owned ByteDance’s CEO Liang Rubo and affirming that he personally owns shares in ByteDance. Although Chew mentioned that ByteDance doesn’t require that staff disclose this info, he additionally appeared to agree that it’s seemingly that many ByteDance staff are CCP members.
Things bought private for Chew—who lives in Singapore, not China—when Congress members pressured him to reveal his personal connections to the CCP, which he repeatedly evaded. He reminded the committee that his testimony was solely about TikTok. He additionally persistently resisted responding to a number of committee members asking if he condemned Chinese human rights abuses in opposition to a Turkish ethnic minority in China, the Uyghurs.
“You have absolutely tied yourself in knots to avoid criticizing CCP’s treatment of Uyghurs,” Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) advised Chew.
Nothing that Chew mentioned appeared to weaken the bipartisan united entrance in opposition to TikTok that was introduced by committee members.
Rick Allen (R-Ga.) pointedly mentioned that Chew gave him “no reason to believe” that TikTok would adjust to any American orders that battle with what the CCP desires. Although Chew frequently denied that the CCP managed TikTok—whereas remaining imprecise on many different questions—Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) mentioned it was clear to her that “ByteDance puts China first and America last.” Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) advised Chew that as a result of the WSJ report mentioned that China’s commerce minister has confirmed that China might block a sale of TikTok, “all of what you’ve been saying about the distance between TikTok and China has been said to be not true.”
There had been many questions that Chew didn’t reply, promising as an alternative to comply with up. Committee members got 10 enterprise days to submit written inquiries to TikTok. Outstanding questions lined all the pieces from how (and to whom) TikTok sells person information, to how a lot TikTok income ByteDance retains, and what number of tech assets are shared between TikTok and different ByteDance-owned firms.
In his written testimony that was ready forward of the listening to, Chew maintained that “ByteDance is not an agent of China” and made 4 guarantees to each Congress and to American TikTok customers. He vowed to maintain person security as a high precedence, to forestall unauthorized overseas entry to American person information, to forestall any authorities from manipulating TikTok content material, and to be clear and accountable for all these guarantees by giving entry to impartial third-party displays to evaluation modifications in TikTok code.
But after Chew supplied his first testimony ever to Congress, Marc Veasey (D-Texas) advised Chew that he thought of TikTok’s assurances “worthless.”
Perhaps Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) summed up the disappointing listening to greatest when he advised Chew, “This hasn’t been a fun day” for TikTok or for Congress.
TikTok didn’t reply to Ars’ request for touch upon the listening to.