On the 23rd (local time), the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the security threat of TikTok, inviting Zhou Shouzhi, CEO of TikTok, a Chinese video-sharing platform, to appear as a witness. It is the first time in 13 years since the 2010 Toyota recall incident that a CEO of a foreign company testified at a US Congressional hearing.
At the hearing, which lasted for about five hours, the ruling Democratic Party and opposition Republican lawmakers unanimously fired at each other, saying, “TikTok is a weapon of the Chinese Communist Party and should be banned (in the United States).” On the other hand, the conflict between the U.S. and China over TikTok is intensifying, with China clearly stating that it opposes the sale of its stake in TikTok owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
House Energy Commerce Committee Chair (Republican Party) Cathy Rogers said at the hearing, “TikTok is a weapon used by the Chinese Communist Party to monitor and manipulate Americans and exploit future generations.” “TikTok has repeatedly chosen the path of more control, surveillance, and manipulation. It should be banned,” he criticized.
Representative Frank Fallon, Democratic Party secretary of the Energy Trade Commission, also said, “(Contrary to TikTok’s claim, TikTok will continue to collect and sell American data).” Rep. Tony Cartenas (Democratic Party) also added that “(the ban on TikTok) is a matter of life or death,” pointing out cases where American teenagers died due to the “breath holding challenge,” which was once popular on TikTok.
Singapore-born CEO Zhou explained, “ByteDance is not a Chinese agent.” However, he also bought a frown by revealing that his children do not use TikTok.
Concerns poured out outside the hearing room as well. US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said, “We must end (the threat of TikTok) by any means.” Michael McCall, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, also said he could only accept a complete breakup between TikTok and ByteDance. The Biden administration is sticking to its intention to completely ban the use of TikTok in the United States unless ByteDance sells its stake in TikTok.
China’s Ministry of Commerce responded to the pressure to sell ByteDance’s stake, saying, “Forcing such a deal will seriously undermine the confidence of investors from around the world, including China, in US investment.”
However, the global TikTok alert is blowing, with the movement to ban TikTok spreading outside the United States. On this day, the British Parliament said, “We will follow the government policy that prohibits the installation of TikTok on business devices.” The Scottish Government has also banned the use of TikTok on government officials’ work devices.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.