Democrat Calls TikTok CEO’s Testimony ‘Disturbing’

Following a congressional hearing featuring TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) appeared on MSNBC to express her concerns about his “disturbing” testimony — pointing out that Chew had dodged a question about whether TikTok will commit to abstain from selling users’ data in the future.

The TikTok CEO repeatedly refused to answer questions about the actions of the Chinese-owned social media app, as well as numerous other questions from concerned lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reports about the app spying on Americans and other major issues.

During his testimony, Chew did not deny that the Chinese-owned social media app had the ability to spy on its American users.

He was also asked about reports that TikTok had spied on American journalists, to which he responded: “I disagree with the characterization that it was ‘spying.’”

The TikTok CEO even refused to condemn China’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims when asked repeatedly about the issue — prompting critics to argue that his refusal was evidence that he was under the influence of the CCP.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Dingell argued that Chew’s testimony was “disturbing” and expressed concerns about TikTok selling data — noting that people’s data “becomes a weapon to their own personal security and our national security.”

“I do think that yesterday was a disturbing day, in that he confirmed a lot of people’s suspicions in his not answering questions directly,” the Democrat congresswoman argued. “I asked him if he would commit to not sell data down the road. And he gave a non-answer, which he gave multiple times.”

She went on to note that while lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are advocating for banning TikTok, she is “not sure” about her position on the matter — but she does want “privacy legislation” to address the issue on “all platforms.”

“I do believe that the committee is united that we must do something about privacy,” Dingell said. “I will say, there are members on both sides of the aisle that believe we need to ban TikTok. For me individually, I’m not sure I’m ready to ban one company. I think we need privacy legislation across all platforms. And people really do not understand what is happening to the data that they generate every single day and it’s being used in so many different ways and becomes a weapon to their own personal security and our national security.”