TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to appear before the U.S. Congress on March 23 to testify on the short video app and its 2 billion strong platform’s consumer privacy and data security practices.
The announcement was made by House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Monday, as opposition to TikTok and the platform’s impact on the U.S. market grows. The U.S. government has also probed ByteDance-owned TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok, like other social media platforms, uses a power algorithm to turn talent and performers into bankable stars who are increasingly signing up with Hollywood talent agencies to expand their careers across digital platforms. Chew will make his first appearance before a Congressional committee in March.
“Big Tech has increasingly become a destructive force in American society. The Energy and Commerce Committee has been at the forefront of asking Big Tech CEOs — from Facebook to Twitter to Google — to answer for their companies’ actions,” Rodgers said in a statement.
Congress is especially concerned about the potential for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data via TikTok.
“Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security, as well as what actions TikTok is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms. We’ve made our concerns clear with TikTok,” Rodgers added.