Apple and TikTok have both declined to testify to their ties to China in a US Congressional hearing.
The hearing was scheduled to dig into the ties between China and US’s technology sector, and whether it poses a national security threat.
TikTok however explained in a statement that it would not participate in the hearing due to the short notice given. It however added that it was still committed to ‘working productively’ with the US Congress.
Apple in turn had no comment.
A Senator of US’s Republican Party, Josh Hawley, tweeted, “I’ve invited Apple and TikTok [US] to testify on Tuesday about their business in and with China and the risks to American consumers. So far, they are both refusing. Something to hide?”
Mr. Hawley organized the hearing.
He has discussed his mistrust of tech giants such as Apple in interviews, and has publicly criticized Apple for removing the emoji of the flag of Taiwan in Hong Kong and banning the police tracking app used by Hong Kong protesters.
According to TikTok, majority of its US-based users are between the ages of 16 and 24.
TikTok, previously Musical.ly, says it stores all US user data inside the United States.
TikTok has not had better luck in other countries. India recently lifted its ban on the app, while the UK investigated it over privacy concerns.
