TikTok 'should be ended one way or another,' says US Secretary of State Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on March 22. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said TikTok should be “ended one way or another,” but noted “there are different ways of doing that.”

Speaking at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Blinken said he did not know if it would be sufficient for TikTok to be divested from its Chinese parent company.

The top US diplomat said he believed the app is a threat to US national security, but would not outright say that it should be banned. He noted that it has been prohibited for use by US Embassy contractors and third party vendors.

“Clearly, we, the administration and others are seized with the challenge that it poses and are taking action to address it,” he said.

TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew testifying before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, today. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

When asked about election misinformation, TikTok CEO Shou Chew stressed that the platform takes the issue seriously, and highlighted that the app does not do political ads.

"We are the only platform that I know of that doesn't actually take political ads. We don't accept money. I don't think other platforms can say that," he told Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey, the co-chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus.

Veasey had expressed concerns about China using the power of TikTok's reach around the world "to influence public opinion and undermine the integrity of our democratic elections."

However, when he cited reports saying that TikTok approved 90% of the false political ads targeted at young US voters that researchers tested on the platform, Chew said he would need to review the report given TikTok's policy on election misinformation and political ads.

"We do take dangerous misinformation, particularly around an election, very seriously," Chew added.

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A TikTok ban is far from a certainty despite bipartisan bluster at today's hearing. But if it were to be banned, Snapchat could be the biggest beneficiary.

Moody's analyst Emile El Nems said in a note to investors Thursday that YouTube, Instagram and Snap would benefit from a TikTok ban, each gaining a higher share of the advertising market.

But Snap would be the biggest winner.

"Given the revenue scale of YouTube and Instagram, the TikTok ban creates a smaller revenue opportunity, but it could be materially positive for Snap," said El Nems.

Snap's stock surged earlier this month after Congress renewed efforts to ban TikTok. Shares of Snap were up 4% in trading Thursday as the hearing got underway.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the platform's consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children, on March 23, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)

TikTok CEO Shou Chew told lawmakers the company does not currently sell user data to commercial data brokers, but under questioning from Rep. Debbie Dingell, he could not commit that the company would never sell user data.

"There are certain members of our industry who do this," he said. "I think there has to be broad legislation to help us, the whole industry, address this problem."

Asked whether TikTok has provided precise geolocation data to the Chinese government, or inferences drawn from that data, Chew appeared relieved.

"That I can give you a straight answer on," he said. "No."

TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew reacts during a session for him to testify before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing entitled "TikTok: How Congress can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms," as lawmakers scrutinize the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, on Capitol Hill today. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Rep. Tony Cárdenas tweaked Chew about some of his answers that were not directly responsive to lawmakers questions, comparing him to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who in his own testimony has also frustrated members of Congress.

"You have been one of the few people to unite this committee," Cárdenas told Chew. "You remind me a lot of Mark Zuckerberg. When he came here, I said to my staff, 'He reminds me of Fred Astaire — good dancer with words.' And you dare doing the same today. A lot of your answers are a bit nebulous; they're not yes or no."

Moments later, Cárdenas tried to pin Chew down on whether ByteDance is a "Chinese company."

As TikTok has testified, ByteDance is a private company, 60% held by global institutional investors including Blackrock, Sequoia and General Atlantic; 20% by employees; and 20% by its Chinese owners. Chew tried to explain that breakdown to Cárdenas but the response was received as evasion.

The House committee is back from its recess. California Rep. Tony Cardenas is next.

Pedestrians walk past the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament in central London, UK, on October 11, 2022.  (Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty Images)

Britain’s parliament has banned TikTok on all lawmakers’ official devices and the “wider parliamentary network,” citing concerns over cybersecurity. 

The ban applies to all networks and devices associated with both the House of Common and the House of Lords and comes after an edict last week banning the Chinese video sharing app from the devices of all civil servants.

“Following the Government’s decision to ban TikTok from government devices, the Commissions of both the House of Commons and Lords have decided that TikTok will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network,” a UK parliament spokesperson said. 

“Cyber security is a top priority for Parliament,” the spokesperson said, adding “however we do not comment on specific details of our cyber or physical security controls, policies or incidents.”  

Scotland also followed suit prohibiting TikTok on official Scottish Government devices Thursday following discussions with the British government on the “potential tracking and privacy risks from certain social media apps,” Deputy First Minister John Swinney said in a statement.

“Devices managed by the Scottish Government are configured in line with best practice from the National Cyber Security Centre, which helps us to manage any risk associated with the use of third-party applications.” Neither ban extends to personal devices used by staff.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew takes questions from Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 23 in Washington, DC. The hearing was a rare opportunity for lawmakers to question the leader of the short-form social media video app about the company's relationship with its Chinese owner, ByteDance, and how they handle users' sensitive personal data. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

We're about halfway through what Rep. McMorris Rodgers has said could be a 4.5-hour hearing. Here's where things stand.

Lawmakers are almost universally hostile toward TikTok, and not buying what the company is selling. It was almost certainly always going to turn out this way, but the outcome does not leave TikTok on much firmer ground in the face of a possible US ban.

Members on the panel have hammered away at TikTok's ties to China and disregarded CEO Shou Chew's on-record, under-oath claims that TikTok is not an arm of the Chinese government. They have also blasted TikTok for its data collection practices and its handling of dangerous or offensive content.

Chew has gamely tried to provide nuanced answers to lawmaker questions but in many situations his cautiousness has come off as evasiveness, particularly in response to yes-no questions that are meant to appear tough on TikTok but that in reality have forced Chew to either risk of A) providing a contextless answer for which he could later be accused of lying or misleading the public; or B) give no answer or a non-responsive answer.

The House Committee for Energy and Commerce is taking a 10-minute break.