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Two US senators have accused TikTok of lying to Congress and giving misleading information. The Chinese video-sharing app must respond to Congress by the end of this week.
It seems that the conflict between the United States and TikTok has no end. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared in the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March. He answered questions regarding the app operations in the US and alleged ties with the Chinese government. However, Senators have now brought new charges to TikTok.
Senators Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, have written a letter to the TikTok CEO and accused him of lying to Congress. “We are disturbed by TikTok’s pattern of misleading or inaccurate responses regarding serious matters related to users’ safety and national security, and request that TikTok correct and explain its previous, incorrect claims.” Senators wrote.
US senators are demanding answers from TikTok
This comes at the heels of a report by The New York Times that claimed TikTok and its parent company ByteDance share American users’ data in an internal messaging platform named Lark. The data include driver’s licenses and child sexual abuse materials. Moreover, the report continues that the data was stored on China-based servers, and the company’s employees in China could access them.
TikTok also promised to store the US users’ data in the country and cut China-based workers’ access to that data. However, a recent report by Forbes claims TikTok is storing US-based creators’ financial information, including their tax details and social security numbers, in China. This can be a breach of covenant and have heavy consequences for the company.
The US senators now asked 14 questions from the TikTok CEO. Shou Zi Chew must provide answers by Friday, June 16. The questions mainly revolve around the app’s data storing policies and whether China-based workers could gain access to US users’ data.
TikTok has over 150 million US-based users. Its alleged ties with the Chinese government have become a source of concern for US lawmakers. Some states are passing legislation to ban the app, including Montana, which banned the Chinese app. More states could pass similar legislation.
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