OAN Brooke Mallory
Updated 12:59 PM – Thursday, March 23, 2023
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of the popular app TikTok, testified before a dissenting audience before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday. This is because his company faces a potential ban in the US.
The session raises empirical questions for the U.S. government on how to align the technology, even though TikTok is the only one in the spotlight. Legislators recognize that the issue of massive data collection and power to control what information people see goes far beyond apps. , Twitter and Snap share similar concerns about US technology platforms such as Snapchat.
This includes not only seeing whether TikTok can successfully protect American users under its communist owners, but also enforcing legislative efforts to determine how best to address consumer harm across the business. means that should be considered.
By speaking with legislators, congressional staff, and outside experts in advance of the hearings, we can ensure that America’s nations are not unfairly acting against a single app or violating First Amendment rights. It highlights the fine lines that governments must cross in order to protect national security.
The danger that Chinese company ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok could pose to American national security has not been widely accepted in Washington. , and other states are following suit.
The interagency council tasked with investigating national security issues stemming from ByteDance’s ownership has threatened a ban if the company doesn’t sell its role in the app.
However, an outright ban brings its own set of legal difficulties.
“Members could be banned or forced to sell without addressing some of the broader issues shared by TikTok and the US-based social media company, particularly those facing children and young users. If you just focus on sex, I think you are wrong.
Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce, said he and many of his colleagues attended the conference open to solutions. I said yes.
“We have to be open minded and cautious…but at the same time, time is of the essence,” Bililakis said in an interview Wednesday.
Jameel Jafar said he could challenge the First Amendment if he pushed for a ban when a government’s policy of easing restrictions could reasonably alleviate concerns.
Jaffer is Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Center at Columbia University.
“The ban here is in some ways not all-encompassing because it focuses only on TikTok and a handful of other platforms, when in reality many other platforms also collect this kind of information. …and in another sense, it will be over, because there are less restrictive ways for the government to achieve its objectives,” Jafar said.
While some may wonder if denying Americans access to TikTok is really a violation of their rights, Jaffer believes that the US government’s role in regulating the media sources Americans can access He argued that the public should see it in the context of power.
“If the government wants to ban Americans from accessing foreign media, including foreign social media, that’s a good thing…it has to bear a heavy burden in court,” Jafar continued.
Many legislators agree that if the government chooses that policy, it should give the American public a stronger case for why a ban is necessary. restriction law If a government wanted to ban foreign-owned technology for national security reasons, it would demand such an explanation.
“The message we want people to hear is passing this law or something like it, overseeing regime bans, coercing TikTok sales, and fighting to curb the abuses of dominant Big Tech companies. I think the current conversation about bans certainly threatens to let big tech companies escape. Congress needs to make sure it doesn’t fall into that trap.” declared Trahan.
Even if the US succeeds in banning TikTok or is forced to separate it from ByteDance, there is no way to be sure that the previously collected data is beyond the grasp of the Chinese government.
John Rush, who consults with clients on risk mitigation agreements involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, posed a question.
“If that sale were to take place, how would you separate the code bases between ByteDance and TikTok? How do you reassure yourself that there are no hidden backdoors, code weaknesses, or regular errors in the structure of your code?”
Eric Cole, a cybersecurity expert who started his career as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hacker, thinks his concerns about TikTok are legitimate, but his biggest problem is that it’s already happened. It seems too late to fix things, he said. upon.
“At this point, even if we succeed in banning Tiktok outright, it’s too deeply ingrained,” Cole said. Thursday’s hearing will focus on a number of senators from both sides calling for a comprehensive privacy law like the panel. passed last year But it never made it to the floor to vote.
The call acknowledged that many of the concerns about TikTok are shared with other big tech companies in the United States, with the exception of ownership by Chinese companies.
Both Trahan and Vililakis stressed the need for privacy reform as a more systematic response to the challenges posed by TikTok. Both are particularly concerned about TikTok’s potential negative impact on younger generations, so he said the hearing would focus on protecting TikTok.
TikTok is pushing a sophisticated scheme known as “Project Texas” to allay US concerns over ownership. The idea is to put data operations in the US there and allow other parties to review that code and submit it to the app store.
Analysts and even some lawmakers acknowledge that Project Texas has taken at least a step forward in a key aspect of consumer protection that has been campaigned more broadly in the tech industry.
“TikTok is now in a very unique position to take a positive step on an issue where many of America’s top companies are lagging behind and, frankly, even going backwards.
While she believes there are still many questions TikTok has to answer about the relevance of Project Texas, Trahan said the company’s declared “openness to stronger transparency mechanisms” still remains. expressed optimism.
In pre-hearing interviews, lawmakers and aides made it clear that no matter how TikTok in particular is addressed, comprehensive privacy laws are still needed. may be avoided in the future, and it also helps us hold American businesses to a higher standard.
But given that federal digital privacy laws don’t yet exist, Lash said the U.S. would have to assess what that would mean on a larger scale if Project Texas were scrapped. I was.
“Does Project Texas provide the best currently available option to protect national security in lieu of the much-needed US comprehensive federal data privacy regulation? If we are forced to sell, will it continue?” Rush’s advice is one of the few select companies with the knowledge to help businesses with contracts if the deal goes through.
While the plan appears to address lawmakers’ concerns, Rush said, “there could be theoretical risks that could arise in connection with the application.” I can’t tell you.
Earlier this week, House Energy and Commerce Committee The official, who was allowed to speak only on record, told reporters that TikTok’s risk-reduction strategy was “purely marketing.” The commission aide argued that it would be very difficult to examine all of the current code for flaws.
Energy Commerce Commission Chairman Kathy McMorris Rogers (R-Washington) said the ban was approved by the commission to address immediate concerns raised by TikTok and to stop the recurrence problem, according to a commission aide. We support both comprehensive privacy laws.
Chu posted a personal TikTok video from his account on Tuesday, praising his 150 million monthly active users in the US and adding his own comments to the video to make TikTok special to them. I urged others to explain why and why legislators should stop trying to object. Ban social media apps.
Get informed! Receive free breaking news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
