America's House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, announced on March 26 that lawmakers would advance legislation proposing a nationwide ban on TikTok.
The announcement came after the video-sharing app's CEO testified before Congress last week.
Apparently, nothing the CEO said gave Congress the confidence that TikTok, ByteDance, or the Chinese government could be trusted.
While TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was addressing Congress last week, he was asked if people from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, had helped him prepare for the hearing.
He refused to answer.
It can be assumed that he refused to answer because the answer was "yes," and ByteDance has been proven to have very unscrupulous ties to the Chinese government.
Essentially, China's government had coached Shou Zi Chew on what to say to allow the app to still be used in America. McCarthy was not about to trust America's security to this man.
I can't say that I blame him.
It's very concerning that the CEO of TikTok can't be honest and admit what we already know to be true—China has access to TikTok user data.
The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 26, 2023