Get All Access for $5/mo

TikTok CEO to Testify on Security Concerns at Capitol Hill. Will This All Be a Song and Dance? Chinese-owned TikTok is sending its CEO to sit before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

By Dan Bova Edited by Jessica Thomas

Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg via Getty Images

But will he kick things off with a viral dance routine?

With mounting calls from U.S. lawmakers to ban TikTok due to national security concerns, the app's CEO Shou Zi Chew is traveling to Capitol Hill on March 23 to testify in front of members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Related: How Brands Are Capitalizing TikTok to Win New Audiences

In advance of the testimony, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington) stated lawmakers' concerns: "ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data." Rodgers continued, "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."

The company fired back at Rodgers, releasing a statement that read in part, "There is no truth to Rep. McMorris Rodgers' claim that TikTok has made U.S. user data available to the Chinese Communist Party," adding, "The Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok."

Related: Did #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt Give Amazon the "Social Commerce" Push It Needed?

This past December, U.S. lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill that included a provision banning the use of TikTok on government-owned devices (excluding its use for law enforcement or national security purposes). That followed a warning from FBI Director Christopher Wray to members of the House Homeland Security Committee in November. "We do have national security concerns at least from the FBI's end about TikTok," Wray explained. "They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users. Or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose. Or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices."

Related: Twitter Is Mourning the Loss of 97-Year-Old TikTok Star Grandma Holla

Buzz News released a bombshell report in June analyzing leaked audio clips from internal TikTok meetings. In the clips, Buzzfeed reported that employees of ByteDance repeatedly spoke of accessing nonpublic data about U.S. TikTok users and referred to one Chinese engineer called "Master Admin" who "has access to everything."

But this could all be a lot of hoopla about nothing, right? We mean, TikTok is so fun! Anybody want to watch a video of a chipmunk that looks like it's bobbing its head to Migos?

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Devices

Holiday Savings: Get a MacBook Air for $250

At this price, get one as a gift and one for yourself.

Franchise

The Secrets to Finding Your Franchise Match

These are the three most important things you need to know when it comes to finding the best franchise to own.

Social Media

Creator Economy Survival Guide — How to Turn Short-Form Content into Long-Term Success

Everyone wants to be a creator, but few know how to turn it into a thriving career. From adopting a business-owner mindset to identifying "winning concepts" and monetizing them like a pro, this is your cheat sheet for turning short-form content into long-term success.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.