House Republicans Seeking More Information on US-TikTok Negotiations
Republicans on House Oversight and Commerce committees are seeking additional documents and information from TikTok about its data collection activities after previous rounds of questioning left some issues unresolved. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the top Republican on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the top Republican on the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said they hope more information can aid the Biden administration to mitigate any “potentially negative consequences to U.S. national security” resulting from TikTok’s operation in the U.S.
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In a Nov. 22 letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, the lawmakers asked for documents related to any draft agreement being negotiated with the Biden administration to allow TikTok to operate in the U.S. The administration and TikTok in September reportedly drafted a preliminary agreement to resolve national security concerns raised by ByteDance, the app’s Chinese owner (see 2209260008), which could ultimately involve a mitigation agreement overseen by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (see 2211150009).
The two lawmakers also asked TikTok for more documents and information related to its data-tracking methods and abilities, including ByteDance’s “Internal Audit and Risk Control Department’s plan to monitor specific location data of American citizens.” TikTok didn’t comment.