Robert Besser
29 Mar 2023, 16:28 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that lawmakers will move forward on legislation aimed at restricting the use of Chinese-owned short video app TikTok, alleging China's government can access its American users' data.
There had been calls in the US to either ban TikTok, owned by ByteDance, or pass bipartisan legislation giving President Joe Biden's administration legal authority to impose a ban.
The app was recently banned from devices owned by the US government.
On Twitter, McCarthy said, "The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party."
At a House Committee hearing last week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers from both parties about national security and other concerns involving the app, which has 150 million users in the US.
When asked if the app has spied on Americans at Beijing's request, Chew answered, "No."
Republican Representative Neal Dunn then asked Chew about the company's disclosure in December that some China-based employees at ByteDance improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists and were no longer employed by the company.
"I do not think that spying is the right way to describe it," Chew said, in response.
In an interview with ABC News over the weekend, Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said, "Rather than appease lawmakers' concerns, Chew's appearance before Congress actually increased the likelihood that Congress will take some action."
In 2020, former US President Donald Trump was unable to ban TikTok and another Chinese app, WeChat, owned by Tencent, after losing a series of court rulings.
Many Democrats also have raised concerns, but have not fully committed to supporting a US ban of TikTok.
Get a daily dose of Chicago Chronicle news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Chicago Chronicle.
More InformationPYONGYANG, North Korea: North Korea attempt failed to launch a satellite on May 31, which prompted raid sirens and a ...
HONG KONG, China: Describing the lack of women in China's top leadership as concerning, the United Nations has recommended the ...
BEIJING, China: Amid its rivalry with the US for reaching new milestones in space, reflecting their competition for global influence, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report released this week revealed that over the Memorial Day weekend, the start ...
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia's maritime agency has said that it found a cannon shell believed to be from World War ...
KATHMANDU, Nepal - For the past three days, agitated students and guardians have been protesting against the school administration at ...
GOWER, Missouri: Hundreds of people flocked to the small town of Gower, Missouri, to see a mummified nun, Sister Wilhelmina ...
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Two horses that succumbed to their injuries at Churchill Downs have become the 11th and 12th fatalities over ...
DETROIT, Michigan: After Ford Motor Co announced an agreement with Tesla to allow autos to be charged using the Tesla ...
Could Saturday night's game be the one that snaps the San Diego Padres out of their season-long doldrums? Padres manager ...
Matthew Boyd's second stint with the Detroit Tigers hasn't gone as smoothly as he envisioned, but he will look to ...
A benevolent official scorer perhaps kept the Los Angeles Angels from adding to their major-league-worst mark of 31 unearned runs ...