House Committee Rails Against TikTok as CEO Defends App: ‘Algorithm Preys on Vulnerable People’

House Energy and Commerce Committee members grilled Shou Zi Chew, expressing a willingness to ban the app over privacy issues

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in 2023. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to allay concerns from Congress and the Biden Administration about Chinese government influence on the company, and how the app could be used for propaganda and to capture personal information from users.

The Biden Administration has suggested it might take actions to ban the social media app in the United States if ByteDance does not sell its ownership of TikTok to an American company. There are interested buyers, as the app has around 150 million U.S. users. Recently the company was accused of spying on American journalists.

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