WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The CEO of TikTok appeared before the House Energy Committee on Thursday to discuss the security of the popular app, and the committee chair wasted no time claiming the app is "a tool to manipulate America as a whole."
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington state, has been a longtime advocate of holding TikTok accountable for alleged data security and user safety violations. On Thursday, CEO Shou Zi Chew made his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.
In her opening statement, McMorris Rodgers assailed the social platform's trustworthiness because of its close ties to Beijing.
“Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” McMorris Rodgers said. "TikTok has repeatedly chosen a path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation.”
McMorris Rodgers called TikTok a threat to national security and American teenagers.
"Within minutes of creating an account, your algorithm can promote suicide, self-harm and eating disorders to children," she claimed.
McMorris Rodgers grilled Chew on TikTok's method of "heating content", or promoting specific content within the app. Chew said the company's heating method has been approved by other communities, but did not explicitly say yes or no.
She then asked if any moderation tools have been used to remove content about the "Uyghur genocide" or the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
Chew said content on these topics is not removed from TikTok.
"TikTok is a place for freedom of expression. And, Chair, just like I said, if you use our app, you can go on there and you will see a lot of users around the world expressing content on that topic and many others," Chew said.
McMorris Rodgers was unconvinced, however, and reminded Chew that lying to Congress is a federal offense.
During one particularly heated exchange, McMorris Rodgers and Chew went back and forth about whether the app or its parent company, ByteDance, promotes or removes content from the app under the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) direction. Chew denied the allegations.
"We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government," he said. "It is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep this free from any manipulation by any government."
In a news release sent after the Congressional hearing, McMorris Rodgers maintained that TikTok harms the American public.
“TikTok is a weapon by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on you, manipulate what you see and exploit for future generations," she said. "A ban is only a short-term way to address TikTok. A data privacy bill is the only way to stop TikTok from ever happening again.”
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