Senate Testimony: TikTok COO Reluctant to Cease Flow of US Data to China

TikTok chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas refused to commit to halting the company's flow of American data to China Wednesday, when providing testimony to the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

During the proceedings, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, asked Pappas, "Will TikTok commit to cutting off all data and data flows to China, China-based TikTok employees, ByteDance employees, or any other party in China that might have the capability to access information on U.S. users?"

Pappas declined a commitment to Portman's query, but also teased the outcome of the company's negotiations with the U.S. government "will satisfy all national security concerns."

She also reiterated that TikTok, despite having an office in China, does not have any formal operations inside the country.

Chinese national security law dictates that all companies located within its boundaries must cooperate with data requests from the government. 

As such, Commissioner Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission has already called upon Apple and Google to ban TikTok over "national security" concerns, arguing that U.S. user data could be transferred to the Chinese government and thus be secondarily used to undermine U.S. interests.

In July, Breitbart News reported: "Chinese-owned viral video app TikTok has revealed that certain company employees based in China have access to the personal information of American users. The company's admission came in a letter to nine U.S. senators who accused TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., of monitoring U.S. citizens."

As a counter to that, Pappas relayed that "under no circumstances" would TikTok supply American user data to Chinese authorities.

Pappas did not clarify whether ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, would keep U.S. user data from the Chinese government.

According to Metro, Pappas was among a cluster of leaders overseeing U.S.-based tech giants questioned by the Senate committee, including senior executives at Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. 

At that same time, Apple CEO Tim Cook was reportedly in the Senate building, but did not supply testimony.

• Poll: 58 Percent of Americans Want TikTok Removed From App Stores
• Rep. Dusty Johnson to Newsmax: TikTok 'is a National Security Threat'