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LIVE COVERAGE
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will make his first appearance before a congressional committee as Congress and President Joe Biden consider reining in or even banning the app in the U.S.
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What to know about Thursday’s TikTok hearing
3m ago / 1:09 PM UTC
TikTok ban would be ‘a slap in the face’ to young voters, activists warn
In the nation’s capital, the debate over banning TikTok has largely focused on whether the app’s Chinese parent company poses a security threat to Americans.
But behind closed doors, Democrats are also being forced to weigh whether blocking the popular video platform could come with heavy political costs.
In 2020, Aidan Kohn-Murphy used TikTok to rally support for Joe Biden. Now, he’s trying to use the platform to stop Biden from killing it.
“I’m not defending TikTok as a company, I’m defending my entire generation,” said the 19-year-old Harvard freshman who, as a high-schooler during the 2020 campaign founded a group called TikTok for Biden. It has since changed its name to Gen Z for Change, formally incorporated as a political non-profit, and says it now includes 500 creators with a combined 500 million followers on multiple platforms.
“If they went ahead with banning TikTok, it would feel like a slap in the face to a lot of young Americans,” added Kohn-Murphy. “Democrats don’t understand the political consequences this would have.”
11m ago / 1:00 PM UTC
TikTok CEO to tell Congress the app is safe and shouldn’t be banned
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to tell Congress the social media platform is safe and secure for teenagers and other users and that it won’t be accessed or influenced by the Chinese government, according to his prepared remarks.
In his first appearance before Congress, Chew will also confirm that TikTok now boasts 150 million users in America — a 50% increase since 2020, as NBC News has reported, a sign that it’s now an integral part of American society.
Many of those users in the U.S., he will say, are artists, musicians, chefs and other creators, as well as small-business owners, in a clear appeal to Republican members of the panel.
11m ago / 1:00 PM UTC
What a TikTok ban would mean for users
TikTok hasn’t yet indicated it will sell, but it has tried to persuade U.S. officials that they can address security concerns and meet the level of proposed scrutiny. TikTok’s CEO has argued a ban wouldn’t address security concerns.
But what would a ban mean for consumers? Is there any precedent?
NBC News spoke with four people who have studied cybersecurity, national security and technology policy who offered some ideas about how a TikTok ban could work.
12m ago / 1:00 PM UTC
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew makes his first appearance before Congress today
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at 10 a.m. ET.
It will be his first appearance before a congressional panel since he took over as CEO in April 2021.
The hearing, titled “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms,” will be led by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com