China Select Committee Chair Seeks Briefing on TikTok Deal
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said Sept. 26 that he plans to conduct “full oversight” of a new U.S.-China agreement that will transfer ownership and control of TikTok from China’s ByteDance to American investors.
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Moolenaar said he has begun that scrutiny by asking the Trump administration for an “urgent briefing” on the agreement. He also intends to hold a hearing next year with the leaders of the new entity that will oversee TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Moolenaar's statement seems to indicate that he will be exploring whether the deal follows a 2024 law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban on the popular social media application (see 2404240043).
“Transitioning to a majority American-owned entity would mark an important step in that process that could mitigate some of the ByteDance threat depending on the details, but divestment was not the law’s only requirement,” Moolenaar said. “The law also set firm guardrails that prohibit cooperation between ByteDance and any prospective TikTok successor on the all-important recommendation algorithm, as well as preclude operational ties between the new entity and ByteDance.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Sept. 25 that a White House official said brings "into effect" the TikTok agreement (see 2509250064).
Moolenaar and other proponents of the divestiture law have asserted that with ByteDance owning TikTok, the Chinese government could use the app to spread anti-U.S. propaganda and gain access to U.S. users' personal information. Moolenaar said Sept. 18 that he is concerned the U.S.-China deal might allow Beijing to continue to control or influence TikTok’s algorithm (see 2509220010).