TikTok US Ban 4z6f3o Lawmakers to Move Forward With TikTok Bill, House Speaker Says

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers from both parties last week over national security and other concerns involving the app. 57531d

By Reuters | Updated: 27 March 2023 15:34 IST

TikTok US Ban: Lawmakers to Move Forward With TikTok Bill, House Speaker Says

Photo Credit: Reuters 3v6d2p

TikTok is owned by China's ByteDance

Highlights

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before a US House Committee
Lawmakers from both parties grilled him about national security
TikTok has has 150 million American s

ment

US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday lawmakers will move forward with legislation to address national security worries about TikTok, alleging China's government had access to the short video app's data.

In the United States, there are growing calls to ban ByteDance, or to bipartisan legislation to give President Joe Biden's istration legal authority to seek a ban. Devices owned by the US government were recently banned from having the app installed.

"The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party," McCarthy said on Twitter.

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It's very concerning that the CEO of TikTok can't be honest and it what we already know to be true—China has access to TikTok data.

The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 26, 2023

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before a US House Committee for about five hours on Thursday, and lawmakers from both parties grilled him about national security and other concerns involving the app, which has 150 million American s.

In Thursday's hearing, the TikTok CEO was asked if of the app, has spied on Americans at Beijing's request. Chew answered, "No."

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Republican Representative Neal Dunn then referenced the company's disclosure in December that some China-based employees at ByteDance improperly accessed TikTok data of two journalists and were no longer employed by the company. He repeated his question about whether ByteDance was spying.

"I don't think that spying is the right way to describe it," Chew said. He went on to describe the reports as involving an "internal investigation" before being cut off.

McCarthy, a Republican, said in a tweet on Sunday, "It's very concerning that the CEO of TikTok can't be honest and it what we already know to be true — China has access to TikTok data."

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The company says it has spent more than $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 12,400 crore) on data security efforts under the name "Project Texas" which currently has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and is contracted with Oracle to store TikTok's US data.

Rather than appease lawmakers' concerns, Chew's appearance before Congress on Thursday "actually increased the likelihood that Congress will take some action," Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told ABC News on Sunday.

Former US President Tencent.

Many Democrats also have raised concerns although have not yet explicitly backed a US ban.

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