In March, the CEO of Tik Tok will testify before Congress
Shou Zi Chew will appear before the Energy and Commerce Committee as the short video app is expected to surpass $11 billion in U.S. ad revenue in 2024.
On March 23, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the US Congress regarding the consumer privacy and data security policies of the 2 billion-user platform and its short video app.
The declaration was made on Monday by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, leader of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as criticism of TikTok and the platform’s influence on the American market intensifies. The U.S. government has also looked into TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which is owned by ByteDance.
Similar to other social media platforms, TikTok employs a powerful algorithm to turn artists and talent into bankable stars. As a result, more and more of these stars are signing contracts with Hollywood talent agencies to further their careers across digital platforms. In March, Chew will appear before a congressional committee for the first time.
“Big Tech has increasingly become a destructive force in American society. The Energy and Commerce Committee has been at the forefront of asking Big Tech CEOs — from Facebook to Twitter to Google — to answer for their companies’ actions,” Rodgers said in a statement.
Congress is especially concerned about the potential for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data via TikTok.
“Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security, as well as what actions TikTok is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms. We’ve made our concerns clear with TikTok,” Rodgers added.