Shillong, March 23: Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, will appear before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday amid rising calls for a ban on the video-sharing app.
The news comes a day after three US Democratic Party legislators and the company’s founders stated they opposed any restrictions on the Chinese-owned app for sharing short videos online.
On Wednesday, TikTok producers discussed posting videos that can be useful for people running small businesses.
The software is used by 5 million businesses, according to the company.
The developer of TikTok Jason Linton has interacted with people from all over the world and uses the app to share footage of his three adopted children in Oklahoma.
At a news conference, Linton pleaded the political leaders “Don’t take away the community that we’ve all built – a community that lasts, that loves.”
Many worry that the Chinese government may obtain information about American TikTok users and give it to them.
This week, TikTok claimed that the Joe Biden administration had ordered its Chinese owners to sell their holdings or risk being banned.
Recent directives to prohibit TikTok on official devices have been issued by a number of nations and organisations. Many nations are still wary of the platform and its connections to China, though.
There are nations and areas where TikTok has been completely or partially banned.
India banned TikTok and numerous other Chinese applications in 2020 due to worries over privacy and security. However, the prohibition was made permanent in January 2021 after the companies were given time to reply over privacy and security requirements.
