TikTok CEO torched over threat video targeting congresswoman chair of first House hearing posted 41 days ago
Rep. Kat Cammack sounds alarm to TikTok CEO about video threatening Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified that a video purportedly left on the Chinese-owned platform for more than 40 days espousing threats against the chairwoman of the same House Energy and Commerce Committee he was scheduled to appear before Thursday has since been taken down.
Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., played the video out during the hearing Thursday morning. The video, posted on TikTok 41 days ago, shows a gun being reloaded and is captioned, "Me as F at the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23rd." It also cites the committee’s Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., by name.
"This video was posted before this hearing was publicly noticed. I think that's a very interesting point to raise. But more concerning is the fact that it names this chairwoman by name," Cammack said.
"Your own community guidelines state that you have a firm stance against enabling violence on or off TikTok," Cammack said, quoting TikTok’s guidelines directly. "We do not allow people to use our platform to threaten or incite violence or to promote violent extremist organizations, individuals or acts when there is a threat to public safety or an account is used to promote or glorify off platform violence."
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / AP Images)
"This video has been up for 41 days. It is a direct threat to the chairwoman of this committee, the people in this room, and yet it still remains on the platform. And you expect us to believe that you are capable of maintaining the data, security, privacy and security of 150 million Americans where you can't even protect the people in this room?" Cammack contended.
"I think that is a blatant display of how vulnerable people who use Tik Tok are. You couldn't take action after 41 days when a clear threat, a very violent threat to the chairwoman of this committee and the members of this committee was posted on your platform," she said. "You damn well know that you cannot protect the data and security of this committee or the 150 million users of your app because it is an extension of the CCP."
Rep. Kat Cammack questions TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / AP Newsroom)
More than an hour later, Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., noted the same video in his line of questioning.
Chew said he was briefed during the break that the video had since been removed from TikTok.
"How do you feel about fact that… it was up for apparently 40 some days, 41 days. And yet in the middle of this hearing, it was brought directly to your attention. And as a result, it has been taken down so quickly?" Cárdenas asked.
Rep. Kat Cammack questions TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about internal memos and a threat video targeting the committee chairwoman. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / AP Newsroom)
"It goes to show the enormous challenge that we have to make sure that, although the vast majority of our users come for a good experience, we need to make sure that bad actors" don't post violating content, Chew said.
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"And the way, Mr. Chu, that you can make sure, is that you can make sure that you choose to invest more resources, more into more ability to pull down damaging and more and more every day into bringing down that kind of content. That's my question. Are you?" Cárdenas added.
"Yes," the CEO said. "I commit to investing in this regard to stay on top of the growth right here."