Analysis
On Thursday, the chief executive officer of TikTok’s U.S. operations testified before Congress in a highly-anticipated appearance. While TikTok creators rallied outside, CEO Shou Chew faced a tough line of questioning from the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce over five hours. The hearings provided key insights and takeaways for how the creator economy could face significant regulatory and policy changes in the coming years.
In Chew’s written statement, the company shared it has amassed 150 million users in the U.S.—a figure large enough that any sudden disappearance of the mobile app would certainly send shockwaves throughout the creator economy.
Yet, Congress appeared more focused on the current state of affairs of the platform’s operations than waiting around for any promised fixes that “Project Texas,” the plan proposed by TikTok to protect U.S. data, would offer.
