More from TikTok ban: all the news on the app’s shutdown and return in the US
Rep. Diana DeGatte asks Chew what TikTok can do to limit medical misinformation, including viral claims about herbs that can induce abortion. To its credit, the House did in fact try to take the step that would really guarantee safe abortion: legalize it nationwide.
Bob Latta mentions a case of Section 230 protecting TikTok from liability after a child died participating in a challenge trend. Section 230 has come up a couple times in the hearing — which isn’t surprising, since it’s a perpetual congressional punching bag.
Anna Eshoo points out how difficult it is to prove the Chinese government couldn’t compel TikTok to disclose data, no matter how many safeguards TikTok adds.
Chew starts explaining its plans for Oracle to safeguard data: “Our plan is to move American data to be stored on American soil—”
“You’re sidestepping,” Eshoo says.
Rep. Michael Burgess has officially entered an article published by The Wall Street Journal this morning casting doubt on whether the Chinese government could block a TikTok sale.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday that a sale or divestiture of TikTok would involve exporting technology and had to be approved by the Chinese government.
The reported efforts by the Biden administration would severely undermine global investors’ confidence in the U.S., said Shu Jueting, a ministry spokeswoman.
McMorris Rodgers is pushing at Chew’s connections with CCP-affiliated ByteDance executives. Chew has a heavily bookmarked packet of notes — he’s not getting much of a chance to talk, but he’s writing in the margins as she speaks.
Shou Zi Chew is delivering his opening statements, which you can read here. A sampling:
Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country. However, for the reasons discussed above, you don’t simply have to take my word on that. Rather, our approach has been to work transparently and cooperatively with the U.S. government and Oracle to design robust solutions to address concerns about TikTok’s heritage.
TikTok is on the witness stand today, but introductory statements from Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Frank Pallone are also hitting on general-purpose anti-social media talking points, including privacy reform. “I know this is about TikTok, but I’m focusing all my attention not only on TikTok, but on these wide concerns about social media,” Pallone says.
Our policy reporter Makena Kelly is in Washington, DC live at the hearing, where Shou Zi Chew has just walked in.
The full Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms” is about to start.
You watch the live stream right here and get all of the updates as CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies in our storystream.
The company confirmed the new stat to Reuters, and it’s a number that’s up from 100 million in 2020. TikTok is confirming the number as all eyes are on the company: CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to appear for congressional testimony on March 23rd, and the Biden administration is reportedly demanding the company be sold off from parent ByteDance or face a ban in the US.
TikTok’s planning to flood the nation’s capital with “dozens” of influencers next week for a three-day protest of Biden’s potential ban on the app, according to a report from Politico.
The Chinese-owned app is reportedly even paying the influencers for their journey to DC, although it’s unclear who will be in attendance. TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown has since confirmed the company’s plans to Politico:
We look forward to welcoming our creators to our nation’s capital, helping them make their voices heard, and continuing to drive meaningful impact in their lives and for their communities.
The UK has banned TikTok on government-issued phones after a review concluded there “could be a risk around how sensitive government data is accessed and used by certain platforms.”
The EU Commission is instructing employees to delete TikTok from the devices they use to access the agency’s apps and emails over concerns about cybersecurity, according to a report from The Guardian.
Several US states have already introduced bans on the app on government phones, while the House of Representatives banned TikTok from staff members’ mobile devices last December.
The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz shared an Instagram video of the recent media tour of the center. The Verge got to visit, too; check out our written story from Alex Heath.
What I observed during a recent visit to TikTok’s first transparency center.
