TikTok CEO Defends App's Independence and User Data Privacy in Congressional Hearing.

TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, is set to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the data of the app's 150 million US users is insulated from Chinese authorities, despite ByteDance being subject to Chinese data request laws. He will also describe a $1.5 billion company restructuring known as "Project Texas," involving Austin software giant Oracle, which will store and oversee the vast amount of personal data TikTok collects from users in the US. The Biden administration has intensified pressure on TikTok, and White House officials have told TikTok that it must divest from ByteDance or face a severe punishment in the US, including the possibility of a ban.