In an ongoing battle between TikTok and Congress, the CEO of the social media platform is set to hit the stand on March 23rd. He will be the only witness to sit in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee made an announcement on their website about the hearing. It reads that the CEO will have to defend, “Consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and their relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.”
The statement goes on to say, “ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data. 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. It is now time to continue the committee’s efforts to hold Big Tech accountable by bringing TikTok before the committee to provide complete and honest answers for people.”
The platform has provided an escape for many people over the last few years. Beyond that, it gives creatives an outlet to promote and publish their content for free and gain exposure. TikTok has certainly had its benefits. However, we’ve also seen dangerous trends and we don’t know the extent to which users’ privacy has been exposed. It’ll be interesting to see how everything plays out, with such heavy accusations and an incredibly popular app on the line.
