THE CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

Why is there controversy among America and other nations over Tiktok? Well, Congress is concerned that ByteDance will share user data with the Chinese government. This is also the reason the app is banned in so many other places worldwide. Because of these concerns, a congressional hearing with the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, was called on March 23. However, the congressional hearing didn’t end as the American Congress had hoped.

The hearing instead led to controversial debates over the actions of Congress. During the five-hour hearing, the public noticed that many questions Congress asked Chew would generally be considered “common knowledge.” For example, North Carolina representative Richard Hudson asked Chew if TikTok could “access the home WiFi network.” His intention behind the question was likely just wanting to know if the app could access the home Wi-Fi network, and somehow get any information from apps and devices linked to the same Wi-Fi. However, many found this question startling, as the app, along with nearly every other app in this modern era, does indeed utilize a Wi-Fi connection to operate. Additionally, Congress seemed to be deliberatelyusing Chew’s confused responses to these obvious questions against him. Some members of Congress considered these responses as avoiding the initial question, trying to loop him into saying something which Congress could use against him and TikTok. This perplexing hearing even led to TikTok users and influencers mocking Congress members. TikToker Christian Divyne mocked, “Yes or no question. What color is the algorithm?”

Despite the confusing questions the mem - bers of Congress continued to present to Chew, he was still able to answer all of the questions in a calm and collected manner, gaining further respect from the public.