US House speaker says lawmakers to move forward with TikTok bill
- In the US, there are growing calls to ban TikTok, or to pass bipartisan legislation to give the Biden administration legal authority to seek a ban
- On Thursday, lawmakers from both parties grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about national security and other concerns involving the app
United States 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 user data.
In the US, there are growing calls to ban TikTok, owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance, or to pass bipartisan legislation to give President Joe Biden’s administration 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.
TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi 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 users.
In Thursday’s hearing, the TikTok CEO was asked if of the app, has spied on Americans at Beijing’s request. Chew answered: “No.”