Testimony of the short video app's CEO in the congressional hearing did little to mitigate Congress's and parents' worries. Instead, it strengthened lawmakers' calls to ban the platform nationwide.
U.S. lawmakers grilled TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew Thursday for over five hours about probable Chinese influence over the app, bipartisan issues on its power over Americans, and the damaging effects it causes on kids' and teens' mental health, Reuters reported.
They accused TikTok of promoting harmful content that encourages sexual exploitation, illegal drugs, and eating disorders among children. Democrat Representative Diana DeGette stressed the platform's efforts to prevent misinformation are not working.
Representative Gus Bilirakis presented to the committee a collection of short TikTok videos that allegedly glorify self-harm and suicide; worse, they have been videos that tell viewers outright to kill themselves.
"Your technology is literally leading to death... it is unacceptable, sir, that even after knowing all these dangers, you still claim that TikTok is something grand to behold. We must save our children from big tech companies like yours, who continue to abuse and manipulate them for your own gain," Bilirakis declared.
Chew: We take the issues very, very seriously
In addition to Bilirakis's evidence, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone presented research that exposed TikTok's algorithms recommending videos to teens that build and intensify feelings of emotional distress and, in agreement with Bilirakis, videos promoting eating disorders, suicide, and self-harm.
Republican Representative Bob Latta also highlighted TikTok's deadly challenge videos, particularly the "blackout challenge," where users are challenged to choke until they pass out. Latta then presented the case of the 10-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, who did the challenge and died because of it, as reported by CNN.
Chew's responded that TikTok takes "very, very seriously" the issues of suicide and self-harm. To the other comments and complaints of lawmakers, Chew emphasized that his company had already invested in content moderation and artificial intelligence to ensure that harmful contents are filtered and limited.
Unfortunately, Congress did not conform to his responses.
Profit over user's mental health
Tony Cardenas, the Democratic lawmaker, expressed how the CEO was just a "good dancer with words" and was avoiding tough questions on the evidence presented against the app and the harm it brings to kids' mental health and teens.
DeGette declared that the CEO gave Congress "generalized statements" such as the company is investigating, he is concerned, and the company is doing its work. The representative added that those generalized statements were not enough for her and the American parents worrying about their children's mental conditions due to exposure to TikTok.
Democrat Rep. Kathy Castor emphasized at the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing that the platform can be designed to be safe and secure for children. However, the people behind it have chosen to "aggressively addict kids in the name of profits."
Representative Kim Schrier went back and forth with Chew over TikTok's screen time controls as he blames screen time for kids' and teens' addiction and parent frustration, according to the Washington Post.
Chew stated that the company has recently announced a new feature where users below 18 can only have 60 minutes of screen time on the app. However, the feature is optional, and the CEO refused to state the number of minors abiding by the new limit feature.
Related article: Doctors Alarmed as Teens Self-Diagnose Mental Health Disorders Through TikTok Videos
