TikTok Postpones Meetings With US Lawmakers

Head of the Chinese viral video app TikTok Alex Zhu has canceled meetings with U.S. lawmakers scheduled this week in Washington, D.C., according to CNBC.

What Happened

A TikTok spokesperson told on Monday that the company had canceled their scheduled meetings with the U.S. lawmakers this week.

“TikTok has no higher priority than ensuring Congress Members’ questions are addressed fully and transparently. To ensure these conversations are as productive as possible, we’re looking forward to holding these meetings after the holidays,” said the spokesperson, according to CNBC.

Why It Matters

Zhu was set to hold a series of meetings with U.S. senators Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Marco Rubio of Florida, each of whom have suspected that the social media app’s Chinese origins could pose serious privacy, security and censorship risks.

Lawmakers are also concerned that the company is taking instructions from the Chinese government.

TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing user data with China, or even with its Beijing-based parent company. Even if China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, would personally ask Mr. Zhu to take down a video or hand over user data, “I would turn him down,” said Zhu to The New York Times.