TikTok's chief executive faced tough questions on Thursday from lawmakers who are convinced the Chinese-owned short video app should be barred for being a potential national security threat to the United States.

CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony before Congress capped a week of actions by the Chinese company aimed at convincing Americans and their lawmakers that the app creates economic value and supports free speech.

TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users, has faced sharp accusations that its US user data would be shared with the Chinese government and that it fails to adequately protect children from harm.

TikTok has said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on what it calls rigorous data security efforts under the name "Project Texas" that currently has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and is contracted with Oracle to store TikTok’s US user data. It also says it rigorously screens content that could harm children.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette at the hearing before the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee asked Chew what TikTok was doing to prevent the spread of misinformation on the platform.

Also Read: TikTok’s CEO plans to tell US Congress his app is safer than most

"You have current controls, but the current controls are not working to keep this information mainly from young people, but from Americans in general," DeGette said.

Chew said the company was investing in content moderation and artificial intelligence to limit such content.

"The vast majority of our users come to our platform for entertaining safe content, but there are people who do spout some dangerous misinformation and we need to take that very seriously," Chew said.

DeGette said TikTok's actions weren't enough.

"You gave me only generalised statements that you're investing, that you're concerned, that you're doing work. That's not enough for me. That's not enough for the parents of America," DeGette said.

Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, kicked off the hearing by saying, "TikTok collects nearly every data point imaginable — from people's location to what they type and copy, who they talk to, to biometric data and more.

Also Read: US, UK, New Zealand and others ban TikTok on government devices over safety concerns

"We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values — values for freedom, human rights and innovation," and added that the Chinese Communist Party "is able to use (TikTok) as a tool to manipulate America as a whole."

Chew, who began his testimony speaking about his own Singaporean roots, said, "We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government," adding that "it is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep (TikTok) free from any manipulation by any government."

But the top Democrat on the panel, Representative Frank Pallone, argued with that statement, saying, "You're gonna continue to gather data, you're gonna continue to sell data ... and continue to be under the aegis of the Communist Party."

Some political experts say a TikTok ban could be damaging to Democrats who have used the platform to reach younger voters. Three House Democrats rallied with TikTok creators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in opposition to a ban.

Also Read: White House backs Senate bill to boost US ability to impose ban on TikTok, similar apps

Still, far more US lawmakers want TikTok banned. TikTok last week said President Joe Biden's administration demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential ban.

China’s Ministry of Commerce at a briefing on Thursday said that "forcing the sale of TikTok will seriously damage the confidence of investors from all over the world, including China, to invest in the United States. If the news is true, China will firmly oppose it.”

“The sale or divestiture of TikTok involves technology export, and administrative licensing procedures must be performed in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, and the Chinese government will make a decision in accordance with the law,” the Ministry representative added.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner on Wednesday said two additional senators backed his bipartisan legislation with Republican John Thune to give the Biden administration new powers to ban TikTok — raising the total to 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans.

Also Read: TikTok considers splitting from ByteDance if deal with US fails: Report

First Published:Mar 23, 2023 9:54 PM IST