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TikTok now has 150 million active users in the U.S., CEO to tell Congress [1]
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Date: 2023-05
When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress on Thursday, he plans to unveil new internal data that suggests the popular video-sharing app is far more enmeshed in Americans' daily lives than anyone realizes.
TikTok currently says about 100 million people in the U.S. are regular users of the app. But when Chew testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he will say that number has now reached 150 million, according to a senior Democratic strategist advising TikTok.
That 50% jump in the number of monthly active users in the U.S. suggests the app has become even more entrenched in the U.S. over the nearly three years that Washington — under two presidential administrations — has grappled with how to rein it in.
Lawmakers from both parties, and the White House, argue that TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, poses a threat to national security because Beijing could use it to influence U.S. public opinion or gain access to Americans’ data for nefarious purposes, such as spying.
In December, President Joe Biden signed a spending bill that banned TikTok from U.S. government devices. The Justice Department and the FBI are currently investigating TikTok and ByteDance, including allegations that company employees spied on journalists.
Chew’s testimony comes as efforts in Washington to potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. have reached a fever pitch. Biden now supports a bipartisan bill that could do just that, and his administration recently told TikTok that either its Chinese owners sell their stakes in the company or the app could face a U.S. ban.
His first appearance before Congress will mark TikTok’s most high-profile showdown with lawmakers to date — and the app plans to lean on users, deemed “creators,” to counter efforts to ban it as well as criticism that it’s a national security threat.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/tiktok-now-150-million-active-users-us-ceo-tell-congress-rcna75607
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