REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, faced tough questioning from Congress on Thursday.
Some of it was animated by security concerns associated with the popular video clip platform that is now used by 150 million Americans. But it was clear that the majority of the animus displayed toward TikTok was really directed toward its parent company Byte Dance and the Chinese government whose control of the company and potential misuse of data of American users was seen as the real threat associated with the app.
Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington), convener of the hearings, encapsulated these concerns when she said, “We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values—values for freedom, human rights and innovation.”