TikTok US chief security officer to testify before US House on Sept 15
Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a TikTok logo in this illustration taken Sept 11, 2025.
PHOTO: Reuters file
WASHINGTON — The chief security officer for TikTok US will testify before a US House committee on Sept 15, a congressional aide said on Tuesday (July 21), allowing lawmakers to ask about Chinese involvement in the short-video app.
Chief Security Officer Will Farrell, who oversees data privacy and cybersecurity, will appear before the US House Select Committee on China.
This will be the first public testimony by a TikTok US executive in the US House since the company's Chinese owner, ByteDance, finalized a deal in January to split the US social media app from its global business.
ByteDance, which retains 19.9 per cent of the US operation, has disclosed few details about the deal, and a hearing will allow lawmakers to ask about US President Donald Trump's role in brokering the split.
A spokesperson for TikTok US did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A 2024 law required ByteDance to sell the app or face its closure in the US Lawmakers expressed concerns that the company's management was beholden to the Chinese government, posing a national security risk.
Under the deal, control of TikTok's US operations transferred to an American-owned joint venture, known as TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, this year to avoid a US ban.
The entity's three managing investors are cloud-computing company Oracle, private-equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar said last year that he would host the leadership of the joint venture for a public hearing in 2026.
A spokesperson for Moolenaar declined to comment on Farrell's plan to testify. Adam Presser, who is the CEO of TikTok US, is not expected to appear in Congress on September 15.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, publicly invited TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in May to testify about children's online safety, along with other social media executives. A hearing date hasn't been announced by the committee.
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