Cruz pushes TikTok over company's ties to China in social media giant's first-ever Senate testimony
CBSN
TikTok's head of public policy Michael Beckerman told lawmakers at a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that the social media company considers ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent company, to be a part of its "corporate group."
The acknowledgment, which came after intense questioning from Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, is a critical distinction for lawmakers who expressed concerns about TikTok's data collection policies and ties to the Chinese government.
"Access for our data is done by our U.S. teams," Beckerman said, "if we are to collect biometric information, which we do not collect biometric information data to identify Americans, we would provide consent and opportunity for consent first."
Chaos erupted overnight as police tried to break up a pro-Palestinian encampment at Emerson College in Boston, the latest flashpoint in a growing movement on college campuses around the country protesting Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Hundreds of people have been arrested in Massachusetts, Texas and California during the tense protests, following several rounds of arrests in New York in recent days.