Hot hearing
- Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers began the hearing with TikTok CEO Xu Ziqiu, saying that within minutes of creating an account on the Chinese app, a content algorithm promotes self-harm and eating disorder content, and encourages “serious” challenges that can be presented. Children’s lives at risk.
- Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, said the content on TikTok “has exacerbated feelings of emotional distress” in children. Qiu testified in his first appearance before Congress.
Users data
- Lawmakers questioned the Chinese official about whether user data of Americans could be accessed by the Chinese government, as well as how to prevent harmful content from reaching young users.
- Republican Bob Latta said he heard a 10-year-old girl choke while doing the so-called “blackout challenge” from videos posted on the app.
Latta said TikTok should not be protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a law that generally gives online platforms immunity for user-generated content.
It is noteworthy that the TikTok application has introduced more censorship tools recently, and the company said earlier this month that it is in the early stages of developing a feature that allows parents to prevent their teenage children from watching videos that contain certain words or hashtags.
Requests to block the application
The hearing comes at a crucial moment for TikTok as US President Joe Biden’s administration faces mounting pressure from lawmakers to ban the app in the country on national security grounds.
What is the cause of concern of the US administration?
• The governments of several countries, including America, are concerned that ByteDance could give browsing history or other user-related data to the Chinese government, or promote propaganda and misleading information.
• The Tik Tok application is one of the causes of conflicts between China and other governments over technology and security.
• Xu Ziqiu, CEO of TikTok, is set to speak Thursday before a US Congressional committee to prove why the hugely popular app has not been banned.
• The United States, Britain and the Parliament of New Zealand banned the Tik Tok application on the phones that exported it
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