ByZhuJing,GaoShanshan

ThreekeywordsmadeheadlinesofmostmajormediaoutletsonMarch24:U.S.lawmakers,grill,andTikTok.

AmidcallsfromU.S.politicianstobantheappnationwideaddressingnationalsecurityissues,TikTokCEOShouZiChewtestifiedbeforetheHouseEnergyandCommerceCommitteeonthepreviousday.

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IttookmorethanfivehoursfortheSingaporeanCEOtoexplainthatneitherByteDance,TikTok"sparentcompany,northeChinesegovernmenthasbeenusingtheapptocollectdatafromAmericanusers.

ButChewwasrepeatedlyrequiredtoansweronly“YesorNo,”andwasconstantlyinterruptedbyquestionssuchas“Mr.Chew,doesTikTokaccessthehomeWiFinetwork?”

JohnMcKinnon,atechpolicyreporterwiththeWallStreetJournal,saidhe“wasreallysurprisedtohearsomanyunfriendlyquestionsfromsomanylawmakersinarow.”

Inastatementafterthehearing,TikTokspokespersonBrookeOberwettersaid:“ShoucamepreparedtoanswerquestionsfromCongress,but,unfortunately,thedaywasdominatedbypoliticalgrandstandingthatfailedtoacknowledgetherealsolutionsalreadyunderwaythroughProjectTexasorproductivelyaddressingindustry-wideissuesofyouthsafety.”

ItwasechoedbynumerousnetizenswhethertheyareTikTokusersornotondifferentsocialmediaplatforms.

Twitteruser@evacidesaidwhattheU.S.needsisacomprehensiveprivacylawregulatingdatabrokers,butnotthehatredofaChinesecompanythatbuiltadominantsocialmediaplatform.

Itwasnotthefirsttimethatpeoplereadheadlinesconstitutedbythesekeywords.Thewitch-huntagainstthepopularvideo-sharingapptracedbacktotheDonaldTrumperain2020.

EventhoughJoeBidenrevokedhispredecessor’sexecutiveorderthatsoughttobantheappshortlyaftertakingoffice,hisadministrationmadeaU-turninrecentmonths,bydemandingthatthevideoappdivestitselffromitsChineseparentorfaceaU.S.ban.

DespitethefailtoproduceevidencethatByteDancehaseverexploitedAmericanusers"data,theU.S.governmenthasintroducedabipartisanbill-theRESTRICTAct,whichwouldenableitsCommerceSecretarytobanforeigntechnologycompanies,includingTikTok.

CarmeFerre-Pavia,professorofcommunicationstudiesattheAutonomousUniversityofBarcelona,saidshedidn’tseeadifferenceinnaturebetweenTikTokandFacebookorWhatsApp.

It’snotclearyethowthehearingwilltranslateintoaction.EitheraforcedsaleoranationwidebanisaninterferencewiththenormaloperationsofrelevantenterprisesintheU.S.andviolatestheprinciplesoffaircompetitionandfreetradeinthemarketeconomy.

ThehegemoniclogicoftheU.S.administrationonlysetsadangerousprecedentforthefutureoftheU.S.marketandwilleventuallybackfire.