The TikTok CEO will be heard by the US Congress on March 23 to testify about the app’s impact on children and the platform’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
This is the first time that Shou Zi Chew has been heard by the United States Congress. The CEO of the Chinese social network had already been received in Brussels at the beginning of January to talk with several senior European officials.
A spy and propaganda tool
Highly criticized in the United States by Democrats and Republicans, TikTok begins a year under great tension after the approval of a law that prohibits the popular video-sharing platform on the devices of public officials. The greater weight in Congress of the Republicans, who now have a majority in the House, risks further complicating the situation for the platform.
In fact, elected conservatives accuse TikTok, owned by the Chinese giant ByteDance, of being an espionage or propaganda tool at the service of Beijing.
TikTok did not respond to AFP’s requests. In order to stand a chance of remaining authorized on all US smartphones, TikTok USA may need to part ways with its parent company ByteDance.
Source: BFM TV
