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In a rare display of bipartisanship, Republican and Democratic lawmakers united to skewer TikTok’s CEO on Thursday over the app’s dangerous impact on children, collection of American data, and ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew struggled to respond to the barrage of criticism from House Energy and Commerce Committee members over the app’s “invasive surveillance practices,” its “Beijing Communist-based China ownership,” and its promotion of “suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders to children”—indicating the strong appetite on Capitol Hill for banning the social media site.
“Your platform should be banned,” said committee chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R., Wash.) in her opening statement. “I expect today you’ll say anything to avoid this outcome. We aren’t buying it.”
Rep. Frank Pallone (D., N.J.), the leading Democrat on the committee, said he agreed with “much of what [McMorris Rodgers] just said” and argued that the “combination of TikTok’s Beijing Communist-based China ownership and its popularity exacerbates its danger to our country and our privacy.”
The hearing comes as Congress has been considering several bills to rein in or prohibit the app, amid warnings from national security officials that the popular platform harvests U.S. data that can be used for Chinese surveillance and propaganda operations.
