TikTok US chief security officer to testify before US House on September 15

By Courtney Rozen

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - ‌The chief ​security officer ​for TikTok U.S. will testify before a U.S. House committee on September 15, a congressional aide said on Tuesday, allowing lawmakers to ‌ask about Chinese involvement in the short-video app.

Chief Security Officer Will ⁠Farrell, who oversees data privacy and cybersecurity, will appear before the U.S. House Select Committee ‌on China.

This will be the first ‌public testimony by a TikTok U.S. executive in the U.S. House since the company’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, finalized a deal in January to split the ​U.S. social media app from its global business.

ByteDance, which retains 19.9% of the U.S. operation, has disclosed few details about the deal, and a ⁠hearing will allow lawmakers to ask about U.S. President Donald Trump’s role in brokering the split.

A spokesperson for ​TikTok U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A 2024 law required ByteDance to sell the app or face ​its closure in the U.S. Lawmakers expressed ‌concerns that the company's management was beholden to the Chinese government, posing a national security risk.

Under the deal, control of TikTok's ⁠U.S. operations transferred to an American-owned joint venture, known as TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, this year to avoid a U.S. ban. The entity's three managing investors are cloud-computing ⁠company Oracle, private-equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.

House China Committee Chairman ​John Moolenaar said last year that he would host the leadership of the joint venture for a public hearing in 2026. A spokesperson for Moolenaar declined to comment on Farrell's plan ‌to testify. Adam Presser, who is the CEO of TikTok U.S., is not expected to appear in Congress on September ‌15.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, publicly invited TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew ⁠in May to testify about ‌children's online safety, along with ​other social media executives. A hearing date hasn't been announced by the committee.

(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and ‌Cynthia Osterman)

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