By Courtney Rozen
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) – TikTok U.S. chief security officer Will Farrell will testify before a U.S. House committee on September 15, according to a Congressional aide.
Farrell, who oversees “data privacy and cybersecurity” according to the company’s website, will answer questions from members of the U.S. House Select Committee on China.
This is the first time a TikTok U.S. executive will testify publicly in the U.S. House since the company’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, finalized a deal to split the U.S. app from its global business. ByteDance has disclosed few details about the deal, and a hearing would allow lawmakers to ask questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s role in brokering the split and Chinese involvement in the U.S. app.
The U.S. enacted a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell the app or see it shut in the country. The U.S. Congress passed the law after lawmakers expressed concerns that the company’s management was beholden to the Chinese government, posing a national security risk.
The American-owned joint venture, known as TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, was established to avoid a U.S. ban on the social media platform. The entity’s three managing investors are cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
