US Senator Investigate Appointment Of New Executive Leader Of TikTok From ByteDance

JAKARTA - Two US senators, Richard Blumenthal of the Democratic Party and Marsha Blackburn of Republicans, said they were investigating TikTok's decision to recruit several high-level executives from its parent company, ByteDance.

In a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, the two senators stated that the movement of these personnel increasingly questioned "TikTok's operational independence and the security of US user information."

TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans and has faced pressure from US congressmen to be banned across the country due to concerns over the influence of the Chinese government.

"They gave the impression that TikTok is trying to maintain ByteDance's influence on TikTok while avoiding suspicion," the senators wrote, asking for a detailed explanation of the security protocols imposed on ByteDance employees moving from China to the US.

Efforts to give Joe Biden's administration the new power to ban TikTok have stalled in Congress. Senator Maria Cantwell has teamed up with the White House and other congressmen in drafting a revised bill that will address concerns over TikTok and other foreign apps.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who is trying to get the approval of six congressmen to ban TikTok in May, plans to force a vote on the matter further this year.

"We need to go back there and we need to ban it," he told Reuters last month. "(TikTok) has recruited a large number of lobbyists, they are constantly in this building and they have managed to stop progress."

Former US President Donald Trump in 2020 tried to ban new TikTok downloads and other foreign apps, such as Tencent's WeChat, but a series of court decisions halted the implementation of the ban.

TikTok is fighting for a ban imposed by the state of Montana which will take effect on January 1. A judge has scheduled a hearing on October 12 for TikTok's lawsuit over the ban.