U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Sunday that lawmakers would advance legislation proposing a nationwide ban on TikTok after the video-sharing app’s CEO testified before Congress last week.
House Energy and Commerce Committee officials called on TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to testify before the panel over their national security threats, data privacy, and safety issues for the app’s 150 million American users.
During the hearing, Chew neglected to answer whether individuals associated with ByteDance, the social media platform’s Chinese parent company, helped him prepare for the hearing. Lawmakers further pressed Chew asking if the app has spied on Americans at the request of Bejing, which the CEO denied.
“It’s very concerning that the CEO of TikTok can’t be honest and admit what we already know to be true—China has access to TikTok user data,” McCarthy wrote in a tweet. “The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party.”
McCarthy has previously signaled he would support a nationwide ban on TikTok as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns over allegations that the Chinese Communist Party has access to user data through links between TikTok and ByteDance, as well as the extent to which authorities in China maintain power and influence over both entities.
“I think you see a bipartisan concern here with what’s happening on TikTok, especially what’s happening to the data for Americans,” McCarthy told The Hill. “There’s many different ramifications here, so I think they could come together and let the committees do their work and see what the product comes out when it gets done.”
