Rarely have we seen elected Republicans and Democrats so united on an issue. Shou Chew, the boss of TikTok, a subsidiary of the Chinese group ByteDance, tried with difficulty Thursday to defend its application, in the face of intractable American elected officials, who had mostly condemned in advance the platform threatened with total ban in the United States.

"I imagine you're going to say everything you can today to avoid this outcome," said Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the powerful parliamentary energy and trade committee, which summoned the leader for a hearing. "We don't believe you," she said. "ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and ByteDance and TikTok are the same." So far, the Trump or Biden administrations have never provided evidence to support their accusations of a threat to national security.

TikTok's CEO, Shou Chew, faced over five hours of questioning from lawmakers of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, reflecting their distrust of the popular video app over its ties to China, data practices and the app's potential effects on children. https://t.co/QctiF4yaXj pic.twitter.com/CwzDS6xNBU

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5 hours of audition

The Singaporean leader, a Harvard graduate, was subjected to particularly pugnacious interrogation by representatives who presented, exceptionally, a united front. "Mr. Chew, welcome to the most transpartisan committee in Congress. We don't always agree on the method, but we all want to protect our national security, our economy and especially our children," said Republican Buddy Carter.

For more than five hours, elected officials hardly let the former banker speak. According to them, the Chinese Communist Party uses TikTok for espionage and manipulation. The White House, the European Commission, the Canadian and British governments and other organizations have recently banned their officials from using it.

Shou Chew promised that by the end of the year, all information related to the 150 million American users would be managed only from servers of the Texas group Oracle, located in the United States. But he had to acknowledge that the platform still has old data accessible by Chinese employees.

Beijing opposes forced sale

"The Chinese government does not own or control ByteDance. It's a private company," he insisted. Rep. Anna Eshoo called her arguments "grotesque." "I don't believe there really is a private sector in China," she said, referring to China's law that requires companies in the country to share their data if Beijing asks them to do so.

"I still believe that the communist government in Beijing will always have control, and the ability to influence what you do," said Democrat Frank Pallone.

Several bills, supported right and left, are in the pipeline to ban TikTok. The White House has hinted that if TikTok remains in the fold of ByteDance, it will be banned. Ahead of the hearing, China's commerce minister said he would "firmly" oppose a forced sale, stressing that any sale of TikTok would require Beijing's approval.

TikTok 'destroys lives'

The boss also faced many questions about TikTok's responsibilities regarding the mental and physical health of the youngest, from the risks of addiction to the dangerous challenges that users throw at themselves.

"Your company destroyed their lives," Gus Bilirakis said, pointing to the parents of a dead teenager who came to attend the hearing. They have filed a complaint against the platform, which they accuse of showing thousands of unsolicited videos about suicide to their son. "Your technology is literally causing deaths," the representative said.

150 million users in the United States

"The fate of TikTok in the United States is more uncertain than ever after this grueling interrogation of Shou Chew," said analyst Jasmine Enberg of Insider Intelligence. "There's not much he could have said to convince lawmakers that TikTok is not controlled or influenced, directly or indirectly, by the Chinese Communist Party."

The app and several associations believe that a complete ban - as in India since 2020 - would amount to censorship. "Banning TikTok would profoundly undermine America's credibility as a defender of online freedom," 16 NGOs said in a letter to Congress on Wednesday.

"Why so much hysteria around TikTok?" asked Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman Wednesday night at a press conference with content creators who came to defend their favorite network.

The platform presents the same risks to data privacy, user health or misinformation as "Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter," the elected official argued, calling for an "honest conversation on all social networks".

Banning TikTok would be a headache for the Biden administration. The app has 150 million users in the United States, nearly half of whom are under 30, a base that traditionally leans on the Democratic side. According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, 49% of Americans favor a ban, and 42% oppose. Figures that depend a lot on political affiliation: 64% of Republicans support a ban while 51% of Democrats are against.

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