TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress

[@tincan9579]

This man needs an award for the level of patience he has

[@apostate6849]

All his lies were coached by the chinese communist party

[@vishaldeep5794]

He doesn't have patience, he's just evading the questions systematically

[@danielc2701]

@@vishaldeep5794 Can you explain to me how he is evading the questions? Please answer yes or no.

[@roberts2697]

@@vishaldeep5794 From an Indian lol !!! Indians don't have to worry about such questions , they can't produce such apps.

[@ayushmnair3972]

​@@vishaldeep5794 karali bezetti indians ki?d*mbass

[@baltimorebasedchaos2024]

The audacity of Congress to hold a tech company accountable for the death of a child and demand more from them than they have ever demanded from the NRA or Tobacco companies is ridiculous

[@tincan9579]

FOR REAL

[@propertieswithmariaisabel]

True

[@sissikwook2772]

Lobby lobby lobby 😂

[@kisol2051]

It shouldn't be the platform's fault entirely. But it would be a good thing if it can be addressed. However, to be able to tell whether someone is in crisis, you may need to track more of their user metrics, which the Congress is against, so they are almost asking for the impossible: demanding a solution that they are simultaneously opposed to.

[@khaaysclipz6955]

fax

[@MoMonarch]

It surprises me how much patience this man has

[@chinkokkoh8834]

This is the difference between a gentleman and a savage.

[@mustangx]

China knows the long game always wins. China lives in less than 4 year increments

[@miss_mer]

Trained talking head, it’s not even the real ceo. Lol

[@HeHe-yr4oy]

@@miss_mer 😂😂😂😂😂 you are a BOT well brainwashed BOT

[@jtnguyen8105]

He has no choice, if he acts out in anger there’s no coming back

[@yanzhang5885]

You can tell this man has been trained to speak very calmly and productively. This I respect.

[@radrew684]

He also been trained for evading questions which I don't respect

[@gavinchen8979]

@@radrew684Can you explain on which questions he is evading? Please answer yes or no.

[@xDAZZE]

Let's vote for a new set of people, shall we? I'm ashamed that these people are the representatives of me and other fellow Americans.

[@bennyisafreakingrockstar]

Agreed!!! Old archaic views

[@nothanniballecktor9633]

Sorry, wont work. The people who vote are idiots.

[@Annarassa]

Bot

[@tranquil_dude]

It might be time to rethink the way your government officials are promoted as well :| (a friendly suggestion from a non-American)

[@lxfyukikaze2508]

Sam Altman, Zuckerberg and Elon Mask

[@yukichaw1604]

"If you can't win over an argument, don't let them speak."

[@MrT-ob5ri]

So called US Democracy

[@llimagelessminkll5858]

Did you just pull this out of your ass

[@merit3643]

Fr

[@Commielover69]

Is what you do to look like a fool in the argument

[@1533TodaVida]

That’s what the CCP does to their citizen let alone let them speak out at all.

[@baltimorebasedchaos2024]

I love how they tell Mr.Chew he's not answering their questions while restricting him from answering their questions

[@Tinghca]

it’s a politician’s show time , of course one will optimise it to tell intended spectators in order to achieve desirable political goals!

[@vishaldeep5794]

tik tok on the verge of getting banned in USA too lo

[@yucrane6174]

There is no need to talk too much about how to treat Tiktok. The problem will be solved in the same way that the dictator, the Communist Party of China, treats the Chinese people. It is also fair!

[@80sGuy.]

@@vishaldeep5794 Pffttt...coming from an Indian. Just waiting to gloat aren't you. Just because Trump 'tricked' your PM into banning - and he did like Fido on command doesn't mean we can ban TikTok here so easily. Extreme revenue will be lost. TikTok users are also business owners, many are making $200K+ income per year meaning their sole income depended on TiTok, as such the income taxes from these users are what what our government is raking in annually. Trump never wanted to ban TikTok, he wanted an American company to oversee it. Yeah right, like anyone would give up their intellectual rights. Also, trump is a businessman.

[@kisol2051]

2:11:05 She took almost two minutes without asking any question, even more time earlier, but Chew was not allowed to respond because there were "only" four more hours to go?!🤨 (KZbin or C-SPAN: Please do not remove my comment AGAIN. I have nothing against Black women, many of whom I am friends with. This is just a GENERAL observation of how the proceeding appears to me, and I would have raised this even if she were a White man.)

[@Robert_baiguan]

1:22:05 "Can I respond?" "We are going to move on". He is not evading questions. He asked politely to confront the questions but they didn't let him do it.

[@A59ri]

“can i respond?” “nuh uh”

[@yoelchristian6332]

These people denying his rights to defend himself

[@aerthewitch8237]

Filthy and disgusting behavior on behalf of the questioning members. Asking complex questions, refusing to let him answer, and then echoing their own hearsay rhetoric as fact and then running away.

[@bigdaddy17490]

Ong bro

[@margaretlim9180]

What a kangaroo court!

[@paulw858]

His answers are terrible, though. He is not saying yes or no to anything. Instead it has to have a long string of words that don't necessarily deny or confirm anything. And anything that is confirmed is some promise of the future. They're not looking for promises. They're looking for action. And he's not giving it.

[@Adrian-me1up]

@@paulw858 he was dancing around with his words instead of saying what was needed

[@bffjdyhgjk9119]

Chinese government-led propaganda by Chinese agents seeks to undermine trust in Japanese political institutions and influence Japan's elections themselves. Interference in Japanese public opinion by Chinese agents pretending to be Japanese in various comment sections is an act of war against Japan. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 Chinese operatives find their way into any place where there is openness. Chinese operatives often use typical Japanese surnames (full names), names of historical figures, and celebrities, have multiple accounts, and press the like button themselves. For Chinese operatives, many of whom are Chinese university students, who carry out the Chinese government-led propaganda “disinformation campaign,” the Taiwan “problem” being primary concern. Taiwan is a country and not part of China. Okinawa is also targeted. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 In June 2020, Twitter deleted more than 170,000 accounts linked to the Chinese government-led propaganda "disinformation campaign." In addition to disseminating information from China, it targets the democratization movement in Hong Kong and disseminates the credibility of the United States. This Chinese government-led propaganda is also being carried out in Japan. Twitter announced in June 2020 that it had removed more than 170,000 accounts believed to be linked to a Chinese government-led disinformation campaign. These accounts targeted Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and also sought to discredit the United States. In order to spread its claims and false information, the Chinese government either directly controls the state or deploys a large number of accounts that are connected to it while pretending to be otherwise. It is operated and expanded by 150,000 accounts that correspond to the network “proliferation agent” involved in the Chinese government. While the Chinese government systematically spreads geopolitical topics favorable to the Chinese Communist Party through online comments, it continues to spread false information and propaganda about political developments in Hong Kong. There were 23,750 accounts that played a very active core role in Chinese government-led intelligence operations. This Chinese government-led propaganda campaign is aimed at Japan. The aim is to shape public opinion in Japan. The information manipulation led by the Chinese government is a method that uses a large number of accounts to overwhelm discussions on the Internet. The Chinese government's attempts to spread propaganda and disinformation emphasize speed and scale over quality. The "tone" of the Chinese operative's comments, the tone of the language, is devised to create the perception that the comments are the opinions of the average Japanese. Some of the Chinese government-led propaganda posts target not only Japanese but also Chinese residents in Japan. Chinese government-led propaganda is critical of democracy and supportive of anti-democrats. Even as Twitter has embarked on a mass deletion of accounts, Chinese operatives have been filling the void within days by launching new accounts or reusing existing ones. Comments by Chinese operatives to discourage Hong Kong citizens seeking U.S. help in democratization: ``Abandon unrealistic illusions immediately and cut ties with the U.S. side'', ``Think twice before making mistakes'' . Chinese government-led operatives continue to spread geopolitical narratives favorable to the Chinese Communist Party and comment propaganda about Hong Kong politicians. Similarly, Chinese agents are targeting governments and politicians in Taiwan, the United States, and Japan. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 One of the accounts of a Chinese agent who posts pro-Russian comments registered in June 2020, changed its account name 549 times, changed the location 69 times, and posted 5,652 comments in less than a year. It had 165,765 likes made by itself. The Chinese operative pretends to be Japanese and also makes comments about ``the operative''. Chinese operatives try to spread propaganda by using enemy’s key figures and specific cases with lies. Chinese operatives try to influence public opinion by lying to Japanese people (propaganda) since peacetime. Chinese agents try to gauge the intentions of the Japanese, lure them off guard, and discourage them from fighting evil. Chinese operatives try to gain the initiative by claiming the opposite false "facts" to the enemy's (Japanese) comments, denying and counterattacking. Chinese operatives try to explain the rationality and legality of their country's actions with lies, and try to condescend on a humanitarian basis. Chinese operatives spread propaganda by telling false battlefield environmental information. Chinese operatives use the psychological characteristics and weaknesses of their enemies (Ukraine, US, and Japan) to promote division and chaos. Chinese operatives change account names and impersonate other people to post, trying to strengthen the psychological defense line of allies. Chinese operatives show off the military power (nuclear weapons) of them and their allies and shallowly try to intimidate and scare the enemy. Just like the Russian government. Chinese operatives develop propaganda against the enemy (Japanese) not only in wartime but also in peacetime through military-civil union (integration of military and civilian resources). Chinese operatives try to propagate the false "military predicament" of the enemy (Ukraine, US, Japan). Chinese operatives seek to spread propaganda of limited "political dominance" of them and their allies "other than human rights issues." 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵

[@maxsd32]

Blaming the guy and his app for the death of children in America who uses tik tok, its like saying I am going to overdose on Tylenol and blame the company for it. Like these old heads needs to come to their senses.

[@user-w1lkernip4on]

Tiktok should be compared to highly addictive drugs it's very addictive ,and it's definitly aiming to shorten the concentration span of children and young adults so he definitely should be held accountable for the death of these young innocent unaware children with a very low consciousness , I think you have definitely failed them and to see you comparing tiktok to Tylenol why is Tylenol even at the desposion of young individuals his app should be banned from all individuals without exception it's the most dangerous one of all of them +the shorts stop giving these immoral abusive individuals reasons for the wrong they're doing towards the world because they are giving you easy access to easy money ,I hope that his app gets banned from the entire world +the shorts

[@talpatv512]

Because tiktok dosent use addictive shady methods at all

[@MrMatt-ls3pn]

​@@talpatv512 Ah okay

[@MrMatt-ls3pn]

I don't use Tylenol anymore when I have migraines and dealing with pain lol. I used to tho 😂

[@xxmemekipxxlastname4846]

@@MrMatt-ls3pn ive only recently started having migraines tylenol and other things do absolutely nothing but after smoking a joint it literally completely goes away

[@negativefx83]

I cannot stand our government - such arrogance and complete ignorance at the same time.

[@gson3999]

You dance on TikTok are you?

[@tea497]

@@gson3999*do you

[@qazwsx8513]

i think chinese government steal our date ,but now i don't have evidence” “why do you think so without any evidence” “ because we did it 😂”

[@qazwsx8513]

​@@gson3999 so no one dance in instagram？？？😂

[@alexanderchenf1]

Then you should try the Chinese government

[@radioactiveanimations4159]

Listen, TikTok doesn’t really treat it’s users well and is by no means a perfect app but oh my god is watching a bunch of congressmen, professionals who run our country, interrupt and cut up with clearly ridiculous and conspiratorial beliefs annoy the hell out of me. These people run our country! How the TikTok CEO remained that patient I’ll never know

[@hlau1983]

I thought I got dementia by just watching the congressmen ask if he had anything to do with china or ByteDance, I gotta love with a country run by Justin Trudeau, but this made me feel better about my country

[@radioactiveanimations4159]

@@hlau1983 💀💀💀 omg

[@hlau1983]

@@radioactiveanimations4159 its all true

[@radioactiveanimations4159]

@@hlau1983 Ik, I felt like I was getting dementia too. What country do you live in?

[@hlau1983]

@@radioactiveanimations4159 canada

[@kenarnarayaka]

If any normal person, no matter how saintly or evil they are, would outburst at this His level of patience is unparalleled and I respect that

[@abreezy1st]

Lmao nice English 😂

[@prestonrcasey]

Well, you have to be in this type of situation. They're intentionally stressing him as its the code for these Congressional Hearings.

[@tonypeterson5316]

@@prestonrcasey No, American politicians are just a bunch of propagandists. Never believe in anything they say unless they show u hard evidence.

[@kenarnarayaka]

@@prestonrcasey I get that, but these congressmen are so technologically illiterate it hurts

[@prestonrcasey]

@@kenarnarayaka oh absolutely! There’s no excuse

[@renling]

This is not a congressional hearing, it was an interrogation and cross-examination of a person accused of a crime. Shame on these bullies.

[@amandahaught4625]

That's what I was saying to my partner.

[@ilbolbo2261]

Government just jealous with tick tok achieved

[@呱呱哞儿]

I am from mainland China, and everything Rubio said is true. I can guarantee it with my personality. Rubio's examples about the elections in Taiwan and the United States are very correct and true. In the Hong Kong incident, the CCP government used the police to suppress the Hong Kong people who defended their rights, but in mainland China, the CCP government used the media and the automatic skipping company tiktok to portray the people in Hong Kong who defended their rights as mobs. The truth is that the people of Hong Kong are only upholding their own laws and rights. I worked as an auditor at the Auto-Jumping Company. All things, news and speeches that are not conducive to the Chinese Communist Party are not allowed to be broadcast. Some major disasters are not allowed to be broadcast freely. They must be in line with the government’s caliber or approved by the government. Can broadcast. The common people are deceived, and many things are not allowed to know the real situation. The government publicizes its evil deeds through the media and small and long videos. He cannot speak, and once the government finds out, he will be arrested by the police. The United States is a free and democratic country, please maintain your system and freedom. 我是中国大陆人，关于卢比奥所说的每一点，都是真实的。我敢以我的人格保证。卢比奥关于台湾和美国选举的举例都非常正确且真实。香港事件，中共政府用警察镇压维权的香港人民，但是在中国大陆，中共政府通过媒体和自动跳节公司tiktok把香港维护自己权利的人民描绘成暴民。事实是香港人民只是在维护自己的法律和权利。我在自动跳节公司做过审核员，一切不利于中国共产党的事情和新闻以及言论都不准播报，一些重大的灾难事件都不准自由必播报，要和政府的口径一致或者经过政府允许才可以播报。老百姓被蒙蔽，很多事情都不被允许了解真实的情况，政府通过媒体和小视频、长视频把自己的恶行宣传的很正义，要求老百姓的思想和政府的思想保持一致，有其他思想的人不能讲话，一旦被政府知道就会被警察抓起来。美国是一个自由民主的国家，请维护你们的制度和自由

[@waldo8158]

Jamesong you really prefer not banning the idiocracy that is Tiktok?

[@websurfer2072]

@@呱呱哞儿 I have a few questions for you, 1. what about the actual company(Tiktok instead of Douyin) that is being questioned in the hearing here? They are not owned and operated in China. 2. You said you guarantee it by your personality, were you physically in Hongkong and experienced those incidents? Do you guarantee that you understand everything and the reasoning behind it? 3. wth is Auto-Jumping company? 4. Finally, I hope you are not one of the cult member that was being pushed out of China mainland trying to deceive the good American people here.

[@ochiaichannel1189]

I don't know how he stayed intact for soooooo many hours! I don't like Tiktok and keep it away from my kids, but I am totally amazed by his integrity.

[@HelenKistler]

He was not as forthcoming here as he was when Sorkin interviewed him a year ago. I hope the change was due to pending legal suits.

[@michelles9931]

My granny has dementia, many questions asked by these congressmen are the same questions asked by my granny. All of a sudden, I don't feel so sad about my granny's condition any more, she can make a career move in the US congress!🤔 On another note, a lot of respect goes to Mr Chow's patience and demeanor before these bunch of rude and ignorant congressmen.

[@zeppkfw]

Your grandma probably has better memory retention than these congress people 😂

[@mikisuh8227]

Because Michelle is Chinese.

[@seanbedel7694]

Poor guy has a gun to his head by the ccp

[@ayy6945]

@Au_gustin i think they were using sarcasm which made them sound like a bot

[@lexheart5877]

Its also how most american customer asks questions. I see where they got it

[@jdavi195]

These criticism should be extended to all social media platforms regardless of place of origin.

[@CuttinBlade]

Commie!

[@millennialodyssey5956]

It has been and nothing has been done.

[@Fsrjtyttzma]

People aren’t setting up CCP challenges and dying on those. CCP want control over the stupid people and TT is CCP owned they want to destabilise western youth. They killed millions with Covid. Destroy it.

[@megatronskneecap]

@@millennialodyssey5956 Nothing will be done. Half of the politicians in here look just about ready to fall over and die in their chairs they're so old.

[@arcadian91007]

Oh No, they only doing this to protect American social media platforms, You see, Get this Chinese app out of here, we've got our Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and all others to run and hold the market share, we cannot let this Chinese App take over the market shares, All this charade is just a hoax to get rid of foreign competition. Just like when Toyota first start to sell their cars in the USA many years ago, we slapped 100% tariffs on them and beat up Aisan-looking men to death for that because Ford and Chevy can't compete with their junk.

[@leklektan1358]

Why did the Congress man not ask the gun manufacturer to take responsibility for murder and suicide when he wants a yes and no answer from Mr. Chew

[@tomservo75]

Because gun manufacturers don't publish videos encouraging children to use the gun on themselves.

[@pumpkint4972]

@@tomservo75 so you believe TikTok should forbid a child who legally hold a gun to post his daily gun videos?😂😂😂or legally doing drug?

[@ChrisAlbertH47]

Cause Murica 😁

[@Liam-bx1se]

@@tomservo75 Why these things only legally happened in us but not in Singapore or somewhere😂

[@unscene_tv]

@@tomservo75 it’s interesting to see how many people don’t understand that there’s literal strangers making content to further distract and destroy the social fabric of the US. And couple that with the wealth that some of these US users have, how spending money overseas does not help the local economy. You’re supposed to spend your money with family and friends but instead these kids are encouraged to spend it on hype and trends. No real investment in the youth, just pure distractions.

[@enzymerc6969]

"Can I respond?" "No" How the hell do you deny the right to speak at a hearing to the person who's LITERALLY there specifically to speak in contrast to your concerns... 😐

[@StarNeverDoes]

Talk about "1st Amendment"... God. What has this country become?!

[@onatkalkan4907]

I mean that's the point of a hearing: you ask question, make your own side look good, discredit the other, move on. The time limits are strict and the goal of both sides is to come out with better public perceptions. This isn't anything out of the ordinary (which is the problem)

[@felixbright8523]

Sickening!

[@LeInternetcockroach]

I can see the frustration in Chew’s eyes

[@4adriel]

we need people that aren’t 60 taking action for this, none of these people know what they’re asking the ceo lmao

[@JaswantSingh-ym9zo]

They were not ASKING him anything, They were just asking THEMSELVES and then expecting him to answer yes or no. If they were asking hum, they would have let him answer uninterrupted

[@elijah8545]

see them acting like they don't understand how Wi-fi works. Dummies

[@jkvelasquez84]

Who cares? Both sides of the aisle are actually working together for once! Tiktok needs to GO!

[@deyh5664]

@@jkvelasquez84 go live in north Korea

[@Thylcr]

@@jkvelasquez84 No you need to go. Its always the white old men

[@coarsesalts]

My man went in and explained to the US government how Wi-Fi works

[@prodby_77]

Onggg💀💀💀💀

[@athenaguan3809]

That apply valley guy know what he is talking

[@docaz9453]

Maybe that guy from amish community 😂

[@Mia3HD]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@hereisparker]

My tiktok stan starts commenting without even watching the video lmao

[@Jessica-h3d]

it's basically pushing all the crime to TikTok without letting Chew to explain or refute

[@nicolashiggins1594]

Tik Tok is a scum company.

[@maphistootf2]

and the woman saying yes over and over also explains further, by telling him yes even though chew is trying to speak which shows how bad of a representative the woman was

[@呱呱哞儿]

I am from mainland China, and everything Rubio said is true. I can guarantee it with my personality. Rubio's examples about the elections in Taiwan and the United States are very correct and true. In the Hong Kong incident, the CCP government used the police to suppress the Hong Kong people who defended their rights, but in mainland China, the CCP government used the media and the automatic skipping company tiktok to portray the people in Hong Kong who defended their rights as mobs. The truth is that the people of Hong Kong are only upholding their own laws and rights. I worked as an auditor at the Auto-Jumping Company. All things, news and speeches that are not conducive to the Chinese Communist Party are not allowed to be broadcast. Some major disasters are not allowed to be broadcast freely. They must be in line with the government’s caliber or approved by the government. Can broadcast. The common people are deceived, and many things are not allowed to know the real situation. The government publicizes its evil deeds through the media and small and long videos. He cannot speak, and once the government finds out, he will be arrested by the police. The United States is a free and democratic country, please maintain your system and freedom. 我是中国大陆人，关于卢比奥所说的每一点，都是真实的。我敢以我的人格保证。卢比奥关于台湾和美国选举的举例都非常正确且真实。香港事件，中共政府用警察镇压维权的香港人民，但是在中国大陆，中共政府通过媒体和自动跳节公司tiktok把香港维护自己权利的人民描绘成暴民。事实是香港人民只是在维护自己的法律和权利。我在自动跳节公司做过审核员，一切不利于中国共产党的事情和新闻以及言论都不准播报，一些重大的灾难事件都不准自由必播报，要和政府的口径一致或者经过政府允许才可以播报。老百姓被蒙蔽，很多事情都不被允许了解真实的情况，政府通过媒体和小视频、长视频把自己的恶行宣传的很正义，要求老百姓的思想和政府的思想保持一致，有其他思想的人不能讲话，一旦被政府知道就会被警察抓起来。美国是一个自由民主的国家，请维护你们的制度和自由

[@yosh7510]

@@maphistootf2 it just made Chew look better among all the congress icl😂😂

[@IGOTSPRINGLOCKED]

I still hope tiktok gets ban, it has no use. You guys are just continuing to be brain washed.

[@windchijmes893]

Absolute wonderful display of class and patience by Mr Chew in front of the world's biggest and stupidest bullies - as they always have been.

[@keahithefieryone8513]

His job as CEO

[@squiji9750]

Congressman: How does an algorithm? Yes or No? Shou: I believe there may be a misunders- Congressman: ITS A SIMPLE YES OR NO, WOW, I YIELD MY TIME!

[@heatherheight]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Right!? These questions are so bad.

[@JAdam301]

Terrible gaslighting. Can't remember they were so tough when questioning Zuckerberg.

[@Fsrjtyttzma]

CCP owns TT behind the mainframe. CCP spread Covid and killed millions. Kids are dying. Burn it and let’s move on.

[@RubiCredTV]

@@JAdam301 they literally asked zuckerberg how facebook earns money if it´s free not a facebook problem, it´s a old congress idiot trash politicians are retards when it comes to technology or anything else that actually matters problem

[@zz-be4xd]

@@heatherheightanother question：Does tiktok acess to family wifi？ 😅

[@name777]

You could literally send my aunt or grandma and get better questions. This is so embarrassing.

[@Ryuuuzakii]

literally bro 😭

[@tammyblocker825]

You could send a baby to give better answers!

[@tbh5452]

@@tammyblocker825 you cant give good answers if the people asking the question wont let you

[@litratistangadventurista308]

True

[@Hlinh22]

Haha I am not American but that's so true

[@chadmendoza2000]

The man deserves an award for dealing such childish behaviour of these politicians

[@m.ramos93]

Honestly , Shou is such an inspiration. Look how you answered every question and how he defended his company and what he stands for. Nothing but respect and admiration for this man

[@bradleytiedemann9184]

except all our data can go straight to the CCP dummy

[@capotegabriel]

TikTok is a chinese trash. Boitcot it!

[@dekyne3227]

i feel embarrassed that these are the fossils that represent the US

[@PickyEye]

And their policies effect the whole world .

[@ChrisAlbertH47]

The representatives are a reflection of the constituency

[@jkvelasquez84]

Then leave.

[@chinkokkoh8834]

Don't doubt, the whole world knows it. This is America.

[@leovu8500]

@@jkvelasquez84 leaving doesnt change anything

[@nathanbrentwood9751]

Congressmen -“All of us on this board care about the safety of our children” REALLY🔫🔫🔫????

[@HmongMotorcyle]

Right. They didn't care about the school shooting, yet they act like they care now.

[@debmoon4331]

If they want safety, why are they allowing China to buy up farmland & right by Military bases.? And letting thousands cross the border and allowing them their own Police in some cities? Those are all security risks No one has heard of tik Tok doing anything with people's information like FB does

[@ChrisAlbertH47]

🤣 Good one.

[@WatchfulWolf]

yes, guns protect our children and family, fun fact. Every year they save millions more lives than they take, statistically

[@vincem7405]

u r damn right

[@alejandranino5547]

Omg this congress is unbelievable. Completely ignorant

[@chinkokkoh8834]

Globally watching how ignorant and naive the US government is.

[@UnitedPublicServantAwareness]

@@chinkokkoh8834 Yeah and they all have TikTok accounts with videos of themselves! 😆

[@a.silly_kitty]

completely embarressed by my countries government😨

[@ChrisAlbertH47]

"This" Congress? When has _any_ Congress in America been anything but ignorant ? 😁

[@CristinaSquad]

@@UnitedPublicServantAwareness 😂

[@EmberLiu-c9w]

"does ticktok access the whole wifi network?" *confused and offended face from Chew*

[@hannahhamilton2831]

If they cared about teens using the internet too much, they would’ve banned Facebook and Instagram years ago

[@mighty6588]

Twitter too the amount of prn and gore I’ve seen on that app just from being casual user

[@swo8on]

@@mighty6588 oh god twitter

[@nullow]

i think you all missed the point. Facebook / Instagram are American owned social media companies. Not foreign owned, and therefore cannot be used for spying purposes.

[@igrewuponsupernintendo]

@1:30:20 Facebook, Instagram don't allow content like this. Tiktok does.

[@pikmin369]

​@@igrewuponsupernintendoI've been using TikTok for like 3 years 2 years now. Never seen any serious gore or prn on there yet only censored stuff still not great, but stuff like that is on like, every platform. It's actually even worse on KZbin when it comes to nudity/gore.

[@2408kmm]

This is so hypocritical, like Meta and the rest don't do all the things they accuse TikTok of doing. How much money has Meta spent on lobbying?

[@HaileTyler]

Close to $20 million (that they've disclosed) last year alone.

[@tomservo75]

Meta and the rest are not OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY AN ENEMY OF OUR NATION! (Well that's not entirely true, they're owned by Democrats but I digress)

[@ChrisAlbertH47]

Too much

[@shellysmith1037]

well META is kinda bad as an entity...but geez you corndog they aren't the Communist Chinese Gov't... derp...

[@athenaguan3809]

That’s it. Politician bloom sucker

[@parrotbrand2782]

In this session u can see the paranoia and idiocy of the members of congress. What's the whole point of asking him to come but simply refused to listen to him. I think Facebook, instagram, Google etc do exactly the same thing and can cause the same harm

[@horsymandias-ur]

They (FB/IG/Google) do similar things but progress is almost never achieved in real life with "all or nothing" deals. One takes victories as history allows--hence, bye bye homo haven TikTok.

[@MokochanOfficial]

Exactly

[@coffeeplease1103]

It happened before. McCarthyism... and that was domestic. Everyone has their own motivations. It is trendy now to blame China for everything. The media likes to control the narrative. The best we can do can do as Americans is to keep being our best selves, and just work hard and focus on making our own lives better.

[@Kinkle_Z]

MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, CBC... all of the MSM peddle in lies, fear, and hatred and push our Imperialist invasions and resource theft. Shouldn't they be caring about that too?

[@subliminal5543]

I’m convinced that he could say “no” and they would be like:” you hesitated so I’ll be taking that as a yes” 😭

[@徐漫书]

what we miss here is a man with his level of capability yet being so truthfully modest and friendly, maintaining a persistent steadiness of spirit. That's what i admire at most.

[@reallifeengineer7214]

What we REALLY MISS, is having people with his level of patience, openness, honesty, and spirit of collaboration, in American government.

[@Anessanevaeh]

All they were doing was telling him that he’s wrong and they kept coming up with false information without any evidence and continuously answered their own questions they asked him for him.

[@QuackSus]

can i respond? no? oh ok

[@shirleyan3246]

It seems all the congressman trying to jump to their conclusions, despite Mr CHEW's answers suggested differently....... it almost feel like the Congressman trying to formulate their prefered and already predetermined conclusions despite what ever the answer they get......😅

[@IncrediVision]

@@shirleyan3246 in all honesty, I really like agreeing to your comment and liking it… can you tell me why?

[@themasterofthemovement]

because they literally have evidence against it. are you really against the fact that tiktok is harmful and promoting DRINK BLEACH CHALLENGE then yikes. people have literally gotten killed over this stuff. thats not saying people have died over youtube like no shit but its clearly amplified. china has their own tiktok and its being filtered and moderated to show educational content.

[@themasterofthemovement]

when you make a tiktok account you are literally signing your life away xD. go look at their privacy policy

[@Bababooey159]

Good god, it was dozens of manipulative politicians vs one man and they don’t even give him a chance. It’s so unfair

[@sinlin8203]

你们必须正视中国政府的邪恶 中国都在ccp的控制下面 希望美国一直是人类的灯塔

[@呱呱哞儿]

I am from mainland China, and everything Rubio said is true. I can guarantee it with my personality. Rubio's examples about the elections in Taiwan and the United States are very correct and true. In the Hong Kong incident, the CCP government used the police to suppress the Hong Kong people who defended their rights, but in mainland China, the CCP government used the media and the automatic skipping company tiktok to portray the people in Hong Kong who defended their rights as mobs. The truth is that the people of Hong Kong are only upholding their own laws and rights. I worked as an auditor at the Auto-Jumping Company. All things, news and speeches that are not conducive to the Chinese Communist Party are not allowed to be broadcast. Some major disasters are not allowed to be broadcast freely. They must be in line with the government’s caliber or approved by the government. Can broadcast. The common people are deceived, and many things are not allowed to know the real situation. The government publicizes its evil deeds through the media and small and long videos. He cannot speak, and once the government finds out, he will be arrested by the police. The United States is a free and democratic country, please maintain your system and freedom. 我是中国大陆人，关于卢比奥所说的每一点，都是真实的。我敢以我的人格保证。卢比奥关于台湾和美国选举的举例都非常正确且真实。香港事件，中共政府用警察镇压维权的香港人民，但是在中国大陆，中共政府通过媒体和自动跳节公司tiktok把香港维护自己权利的人民描绘成暴民。事实是香港人民只是在维护自己的法律和权利。我在自动跳节公司做过审核员，一切不利于中国共产党的事情和新闻以及言论都不准播报，一些重大的灾难事件都不准自由必播报，要和政府的口径一致或者经过政府允许才可以播报。老百姓被蒙蔽，很多事情都不被允许了解真实的情况，政府通过媒体和小视频、长视频把自己的恶行宣传的很正义，要求老百姓的思想和政府的思想保持一致，有其他思想的人不能讲话，一旦被政府知道就会被警察抓起来。美国是一个自由民主的国家，请维护你们的制度和自由

[@obeseparrot4266]

1:22:04 made me so mad. They wouldn’t even let Shou argue against the congresswoman’s claim. What kind of congressional “hearing” does not hear people out.

[@gloriasun8225]

and all her pointing finger and cursing words… 1:21:18

[@huizhong333]

It’s her show time never mind she doesn’t even really need an answer from that poor guy she just want to make an impression.

[@litratistangadventurista308]

So true.

[@maggie5139]

@@gloriasun8225 so unprofessional. That was the part that upset me the most, this government is so corrupt

[@lucasjones3338]

They do it again around 1:43:45

[@evelynteo3183]

I am worried about the future of US and the world, given how these congressmen asked questions and then corner the CEO to answer their questions in the way they wanted. Heinous crimes were committed in the US, way much earlier even before there was TikTok. Lots of respect for my fellow countryman, Mr Chew. You have made Singapore proud! Congrats to TikTok for employing such a capable CEO. The company will soar even further under his wings.

[@litratistangadventurista308]

They question his being transparent, but they don't allow him to answer/explain and want his answers to be limited to yes or no only.

[@nightmare4122]

They're all like "it's a yes or no question" but it's not really a yes or no question.

[@dahmerbundy8704]

​@@nightmare4122 BYE BYE TIKTOK !!!

[@edricusty2682]

Worst of that, they assume he said yes when he actually said no. On EVERY questions regarding american citizen data.

[@billlelena5868]

Their main goal was to embarras him not for the sake of social security

[@tamirevoir1500]

They dont give him a chance to reply. This is one sided. Embarrassment

[@chanfonetas29]

tiktkok is the worst app in software history

[@kajundreamer]

Indeed. A one-sided interrogation instead of a hearing. I'm mot even sure interrogation is even accurate enough.

[@Seanybearscouts]

@@kajundreamer his statements aren't straight, hes technically saying yes then no... Just an example when they asked if they sold data, he only said he wont be selling to data brokers but he didn't answer the question that he won't sell it to anyone else! i think this hearing is important... ngl i think tiktok should stay but im just having an open mind TRY NOT BEING 1 SIDED, IT's usually what brings you DOWN...

[@NamelessWayfarer]

@@Seanybearscouts To be fair, the questions they’re asking are complex and require more than just straight simple yes or no answers, they require more elaboration, which they did not let him do or finish. We barely even get to hear Shou Chew’s side. I’m open minded about this too and not really picking sides, but this Congress was definitely one sided.

[@kajundreamer]

@Sean Salapantan I saw that as well. I feel like it will be hard for others to see it though due to some of the uninformed questions that were asked. Some of the questions a basic consumer would know such as the question about wifi. The ridiculousness of these questions will be highlighted more than anything else in my opinion. And then others focusing most of the time just making statements. If he refuses to say yes or no let him finish his statement and show viewers that he's saying one thing but contradicting himself at the same time.

[@johnlucas7333]

Our government is an embarrassment

[@ed25]

All You people are an embarrassment. You guys are just morons

[@sirthisway603]

your government allows you to say:"Our government is an embarrassment." be happy with that.

[@cheddarsunchipsyes8144]

@@sirthisway603rue, but that doesn’t mean it’s great. That is the bear minimum🧸🐻

[@steverichardson7971]

@@sirthisway603I’d rather have a great government that doesn’t allow criticism than having a shitty one and be satisfied with merely criticizing it😂

[@madaichen8374]

I’ve decided to become a C-SPAN subscriber to receive more amusement from such videos. Thanks congressmen.

[@georgeashraf6207]

Politicians have traditionally hid behind 3 things, the flag, the bible, and children “no child left behind” ~ George Carlin

[@gentheninja]

I Hate how they wanna distort The Bible and then true Christians or followers of Yahweh are blamed. Or people get a completely different idea of who God is 😒😒😒

[@artdrio5748]

​@@gentheninjaIndeed

[@ImTheWarlock64]

@@gentheninja how can you distort something that's not even real?

[@nfba1508]

@@ImTheWarlock64 ya mama

[@swo8on]

@@nfba1508 again, how can you distort something that’s not even real?

[@codymortensen2456]

These people need out of congress forever. Its humiliating as an American to know people like this have power. Also, incredible the level of patience the Ceo has

[@呱呱哞儿]

I am from mainland China, and everything Rubio said is true. I can guarantee it with my personality. Rubio's examples about the elections in Taiwan and the United States are very correct and true. In the Hong Kong incident, the CCP government used the police to suppress the Hong Kong people who defended their rights, but in mainland China, the CCP government used the media and the automatic skipping company tiktok to portray the people in Hong Kong who defended their rights as mobs. The truth is that the people of Hong Kong are only upholding their own laws and rights. I worked as an auditor at the Auto-Jumping Company. All things, news and speeches that are not conducive to the Chinese Communist Party are not allowed to be broadcast. Some major disasters are not allowed to be broadcast freely. They must be in line with the government’s caliber or approved by the government. Can broadcast. The common people are deceived, and many things are not allowed to know the real situation. The government publicizes its evil deeds through the media and small and long videos. He cannot speak, and once the government finds out, he will be arrested by the police. The United States is a free and democratic country, please maintain your system and freedom. 我是中国大陆人，关于卢比奥所说的每一点，都是真实的。我敢以我的人格保证。卢比奥关于台湾和美国选举的举例都非常正确且真实。香港事件，中共政府用警察镇压维权的香港人民，但是在中国大陆，中共政府通过媒体和自动跳节公司tiktok把香港维护自己权利的人民描绘成暴民。事实是香港人民只是在维护自己的法律和权利。我在自动跳节公司做过审核员，一切不利于中国共产党的事情和新闻以及言论都不准播报，一些重大的灾难事件都不准自由必播报，要和政府的口径一致或者经过政府允许才可以播报。老百姓被蒙蔽，很多事情都不被允许了解真实的情况，政府通过媒体和小视频、长视频把自己的恶行宣传的很正义，要求老百姓的思想和政府的思想保持一致，有其他思想的人不能讲话，一旦被政府知道就会被警察抓起来。美国是一个自由民主的国家，请维护你们的制度和自由

[@呱呱哞儿]

他是一个有礼貌的说谎者，之所以选择新加坡人来听证会，是因为如果换成中国国籍的工作人员回答议员们的问题，没回答好是可以被中共抓起来的

[@iantaakalla8180]

I like the idea of disbanding Congress for a while and then re-electing better people.

[@josiahjacinto4156]

It's not gonna work

[@superdoodzz]

Unfortunately we just have to wait for them to go entirely senile

[@jaykirizz219]

Congressman: “does the Chinese government have access to American data?” Shou: “no” Congressman: “I’ll take that as a yes!”

[@qmac9966]

He never said no to any of those questions

[@skallagrimm6226]

its in terms of use.

[@timcook4552]

Hahahahha

[@umcThunder72]

​@@skallagrimm6226 it's also in their terms of use that they must notify the individual who's data is being accessed and explain why. The data is ONLY sent at the request of the CCP so currently they have seen nothing. Because they don't care

[@millennialodyssey5956]

Why lie about something? For likes? Congrats you've got 100+ people as dumb as you are! 😂😂

[@paul7787]

5 hours of this? This man deserves his position. He literally chewed their questions and swallowed them like a boss. haha

[@inceptionsfault]

1:22:06 they dont even let him respond man wth is that, they are clearly only attacking him without giving him a chance to even defend himself, they are all against him fully disrespectfully while he’s trying to be respectful…. Americans are such a disgrace seriously

[@tomservo75]

Well at least he knows how Donald Trump and his staff feel.

[@Emem1147]

@@tomservo75 stfu no one’s talking abt trump 😭

[@tinwas_taken]

I fucking hate that man called John Joyce. Bro doesn’t even reason with what that tiktok man is saying.

[@athenaguan3809]

A public bullying just because he is Asian man and have parents company shareholder from China

[@LeInternetcockroach]

You can see chew’s frustration

[@HeckyeaVids]

It’s 2023, each soeaker should have 30 seconds to ask a question and the other should have 30 seconds to answer uninterrupted . It’s annoying watching this guy try and answer borderline un answerable questions and get interrupted 3 words into his explanation/answer every single time

[@millennialodyssey5956]

Maybe they think It's a waste of time. Move on and get it over it and ban the app already. The hearing itself is bogus.

[@umcThunder72]

​@@millennialodyssey5956 the hearing isn't even to decide to ban TikTok or not they've already made up their mind. What they want to do is paint TikTok in as negative a light as possible in order to minimize potential backlash if the app is banned. This isn't a hearing, it's damage control

[@HeckyeaVids]

@Desdralis I mean I’m cool with that, not big on social media tbh. But I don’t see how that has anything to do with me saying both parties should have an equal chance to ask questions/answer without being interrupted? Edit: just realized you were talking to the other guy not me, my bad

[@Frank-zw7gn]

You don't know what you're talking about, educate yourself on the CCP first and then wonder if you feel at peace with tiktok's propaganda prerogative

[@GR33TINGSEARTHL1NGS]

I see what you're saying. But he also was being super weaselly about addressing certain points, so it's understandable that they'd go hard on him with their time.

[@gunhee3492]

What has happened in 5 hours: 1. They want private information to remain private, yet they ask him to reveal private information about himself. 2. They want clarity, yet when he clarifies they don't want to hear it. 3. They want yes or no answers, yet they don't ask yes or no questions. My goodness

[@ruhudson1688]

Love how they want answers and when Shou starts to give an answer which doesn’t agree with their point, they just say “give me a yes or no answer”. Absolutely ridiculous

[@enyamrahs7234]

ridiculous indeed it's like they already have an answer in mind they want him to say lol

[@ruhudson1688]

Exactly it’s so stupid haha 😂

[@chaotiongsai]

It’s not stupid you are a re-tard. That’s standard questioning to get a move on when the interviewee is evasive and refuses to answer the question ACCORDINGLY. He’s giving answers that are not replying to the questions. So they are forced to ask him to answer the question.

[@tinwas_taken]

It’s like they want him to admit to everything.

[@DesDes_likiaksa]

@@tinwas_taken exactly. Like at least let him say what he needs WE NEED THE TRUTH! In mr.chew we Stan!✊🏽

[@frankm6218]

Now I know why the US is in such mess.

[@kimmie5861]

US congressmen are shameless, stupid and irresponsible. They did not care abt those who died of gun shots in schools but they question Mr. Chew.

[@melodygrimes3716]

Congress was so condescending & nasty toward this man that was very patient & professional with them. They asked open ended question & wanted yes or no answers. Seems like they already had their b.s. agenda. Ridiculous!

[@crissydollee]

Obviously...

[@ayoubthegreat]

Of course. They even tried to answer for him

[@ayoubthegreat]

At 35:16

[@gabbouvier6333]

It's crazy to me that the representatives allow themselves to talk about a aubject for many minutes, ask a deep and nuanced question then only allow Chow to answer the question by yes or no. They really only want to trap him. "Taking answers as a yes or a no" isn't going to make anything clearer for the people or the politicians. I also like how they are all saying that they are all pleased by his presence only to question his salary and press him on his wife and kids, which he doesn't himself. The congressmen and women showed a big lack of professionalism and I do not feel like the question is any clearer. How can you go out of your way to invite him only to blatantly and poorly read your notes in front of him. I do not retain much of the debate other than a party as be proved to be more prepared, informed about the subject and generaly professional. The US representatives only seemed to be interested to jump to conclusion, not to ask any meaningful questions. What I hate the most about this is that, as a Canadian the paranoia of the US over China might lead tiktok to simply disapear in all the other countries. It seems really hypocritical to me that the US congressmen and women tried to push Mr. Chow into trap answers so that the news make short videos about it when they are trying to ban tiktok, a short video platform.

[@xflickedx5344]

I’m not reading allat but facts 🔥

[@izhavelagustin1581]

💯

[@donaldjoseph3903]

In China, you don't even have a chance to answer Yes or No

[@bryanergau6682]

Uh, you joined 7 years ago, and you only have 1 follower? And it's yourself? Ok. Also, anyone who can't answer around 240 yes or no questions with a simple yes or no is VERY CLEARLY HIDING SOMETHING. If you asked your significant other if they were cheating on you, and they responded with "Well, it's a very complex question....." would you listen whole heartedly or would you punch them in their stupid lying face?

[@dumptronald9377]

@@donaldjoseph3903 you've been to China?

[@mikeyy____]

14:04 called to order 20:55 Mr Pallone 26:20 Mr Chew first 5 minutes introduction 32:30 Mr Chew finishes, back to speaker 33:00 Questions re: Communication with Bytedance officials 35:45 Tiananmen Square 36:00 can you claim 100% that the CCP can't be involved in heating content 38:00 Yielded to Frank Pallone 38:40 how much does tiktok make 38:50 how much does it make in the US 42:00 do you sell data? No. Ok so you're gonna keep selling data 46:50 did you talk to the CCP? Asker is confused 47:30 are you aware cartels use social media 48:20 please give us specific details of banned/moderated data 50:40 how does tiktok avoid PRC data requests - I have seen no evidence - I find that preposterous 53:20 who wrote the algorithm 54:30 Bob Latta choking challenge

[@MistaClip]

thanks

[@ad5331]

you’re amazing

[@stefanwu2492]

thank you

[@seanmesser3602]

This comment is a small example of why we need to boot out all these internet illiterate members. A simple move by one of their interns could have time stamped this stream but NO somebody else has gotta pick up the slack.

[@comyuse9103]

fucking hero, my guy. i hope you wear a cape because you've earned it.

[@ErickVera-w5f]

I definitely agree. Many of the Representatives were rude, interrupted Shou many times, and were extremely judgemental. Honestly, Shou represented Tik Tok well and benefited the company. I'm ashamed that we have these Reps in Congress. It is truly time to wake up and vote for better leaders in government.

[@1Snowpixie]

no level playing field

[@specialroast5411]

It all starts inpersonal lives.

[@paysanfrancais7045]

“Better leaders” doesn’t seem to be an available option on the ballots.

[@Giran_0]

Congress is getting dumber by each passing day there is no hope for this country

[@sandacalancea1240]

Here is my opinion. Congressmen and congresswomen had a common goal: to make the CEO look less accountable by answering their questions in the format "yes or no?". Their strategic questions were equivalent to their desire to ban TikTok without an ethical approach and appropriate evidence. They kept blaming the CEO for the harmful content, which is not filtered and may lead to suicide. They kept mentioning that their US kids are in danger as they have access to such harmful content. With that being said, a US congresswoman asked the CEO the following: "If everything is so restricted, then why don’t you let your 8-year-old child on TikTok?". Shou Zi Chew responded, "My kids live in Singapore, and in Singapore, we do not have under-13 experience. If they lived here, in the US, I’d let them use the "under-13 experience". The US government claims that it is willing to protect citizens' children, but the CEO's response demonstrates the opposite. Furthermore, if they have so many questions for Show Zi Chew about the content that is posted and its consequences, why don't they have questions for the CEOs of other platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, where kids and others are harmed after dealing with scammers and people involved in sextortion schemes? I’m going to conclude with a very important note. The "blackout challenge" and its potentially suicidal consequences were discussed in Congress. TikTok makes a difference, at least by preventing you, as a teenage user or even adult user, from watching such content, while Facebook still allows you to type anything you want without preventing you from anything. I know that officially, the main target of TikTok is teenagers, but there are still millions of children on Facebook who are being scammed and manipulated, so that in the end, they have to harm themselves. I’d tell parents to stop blaming those who innovate and start blaming themselves for not giving their children an adequate education, as we live in this digital era that is evolving so fast.

[@criminallysmooth3451]

Well said!

[@mohd_c4]

Enough said.

[@theplugrecuiter_4155]

Sister this a national security problem, Byte dance is a Chinese owned company, and the CCP is definitely in on it .

[@itasusanto3372]

Totally agree, we cannot stop innovation, but we as parents can educate! Well said!

[@dimoski]

Parents don't stand a chance fighting against the addiction of these social media companies.

[@XianFish27]

Last time I had to answer a "yes or no" question was back in elementary school English, and now Im hearing it in Congress... Unbelievable

[@darrenmmix2192]

Bro clutched a 1 v 535 ☠️

[@chunkeydonkeymonkey]

Nah fr fr. It was rookie difficulty tho, them congress smh

[@XxSnowmanxLuisxX]

Mr chew if I leave my phone at home will Tiktok sleep with my wife?

[@keahithefieryone8513]

no but it will download any and all unsecured information you have.

[@sideways4life993]

The congressmen & women need to learn to not cut someone off smh

[@JaswantSingh-ym9zo]

They are white, He is Asian. This is normal in such scenarios

[@sideways4life993]

@@JaswantSingh-ym9zo I mean, one of the congress members is asian.

[@JaswantSingh-ym9zo]

@@sideways4life993 Aren't they afraid that he is working for the CCP?

[@ArkBlanc]

@@JaswantSingh-ym9zo Such suppression tactics are common for old people with any degree of power.

[@harrytan5579]

You need to cut someone off their BS or else they are just going to fill the time with non-answers.

[@PotatoLover115]

Absolutely disgusting that Congress put the parents of a kid who killed himself to the court

[@bizznick444joe7]

How do you know the parents wanted to be in there. People love to shift the blame to others and they wouldn't miss the chance to do it.

[@graves4us]

I know damn well the ceo walked away saying stupid Americans, like honestly the congress sound mad stupid during this.

[@JaswantSingh-ym9zo]

Aren't we all thinking similarly?

[@chinkokkoh8834]

Don't doubt, the whole world knows it. This is America.

[@mustangx]

These clowns removed all doubt about how stupid Americans are. The level of intelligence is low. No wonder america is 25 trillion in debt

[@deyh5664]

Muricans lol

[@tinwas_taken]

Even us Americans are saying “Stupid Americans”.

[@SexySaturn]

This is absolutely ridiculous

[@zepillon4178]

This guy is so patient especially with the amount of xenophobia and racism he was facing in that Congress hearing.

[@tednguyen7258]

these old white clowns are afraid of a rising power

[@waldo8158]

Shut up Tiktoker, return to your drug.

[@acoconsults6831]

0xiiiss9

[@jeffjeffries8924]

oh please

[@1533TodaVida]

Holy shit? Racism? You really have to include racism on a congress that have representatives from all walks of life’s African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians too? And you want to accuse them of being racist simply because they don’t like a Communists owned app? What substance are you on? Because it’s clearly not you using common sense.🤦‍♂️

[@Introvertedpupil]

Can I freaking say something? The APP exists. Deal with it. Bring your children closer to you and educate them about it. Do not lay all accusations on the APP because there is a failure of parenting present.

[@ayanwalesunday8770]

This has nothing to do with parenting or watevrr They are just mad they can control TikTok. They are mad it owned by d Chinese and also the fact that more Americans use it more than instagram and Facebook where they have so much power to control people

[@bennyisafreakingrockstar]

They act as if this is the ONLY Chinese created app or product in America. No, the FACT is that they don’t like how much info WE as Americans have access to through the app. It’s not a threat from the Chinese, it’s the threat of the American people turning against their government with more info against them

[@G212Made]

This comment right here!!! Like jeez. These parents and congress wanna blame the company! Watch your damn kids! It’s that simple!

[@scalesofmetal8356]

💯

[@nan.123]

There are other media that make challenges and young people need to be educated by parents and school And not let that affect them .. There should be parental watch and control .... and by settings on the phone and tablet and PC etc Not blame an app I was younger and advised by my parents wt to do or not And my school and teachers So please don't blame an app only

[@ThanhNguyen-wd9hg]

If this is the general level that American politicians are at, America really needs better ones at least at how the Internet works first. And Shou's patience and calmness are beyond imagination.

[@obeytweety]

Yet they don't show this type of energy when it comes to guns

[@obeytweety]

"Tiktok is killing our children!"

[@Fuuka-da-goat]

Maybe we should let younger congress people who actually understand technology do this This just shows how arrogant our government is but damn this guy has patience so kudos to him

[@chinkokkoh8834]

This is the difference between a gentleman and a savage.

[@tinwas_taken]

These people don’t know SHIT about modern technology, apps, etc.

[@EricZhuang-0426]

As a Chinese, I feel very relieved after seeing the IQ of American lawmakers. "You so-called democratically elected parliamentarians are really incomparable to officials who have been promoted through first-level assessment in China."

[@Odith-t8s]

China has nothing to worry about. Americans are arrogant, ignorant incompetent. They believe white people are superior despite balding at 25 and looking 50 at 30.

[@datcreativegoat]

Countless times they interrupted him from answering the questions, and they requested simple yes and no answers to complex issues. When he's trying to explain, they won't let him, that's like setting traps everywhere for him. When he answered their questions, they'll say they don't buy it, what a lawful bunch 😁

[@athenaguan3809]

Bullying hearing for MR. Chow

[@BX--nq6gf]

It seems more like they're trying to stop him from dodging questions.

[@propertieswithmariaisabel]

We need to compile a list of all the Congress members involved in this smear campaign and vote them out.

[@danielc2701]

@@BX--nq6gf How is he "dodging" questions when people talk right over him? Don't tell me you never saw that?

[@BX--nq6gf]

@@danielc2701 People are talking over him because he's making roundabout answers and not getting to the root of the issue. He occasionally made real answers, but it's obvious he was stalling out the senator's limited speaking time- which was the reason the senators were trying to interrupt him to get a real answer.

[@thomast.9191]

I wish Mr. Chew was my CEO. He is calm and he listens.

[@felixbright8523]

and super intelligent! very much on top his brief

[@cwagner641]

Yes, we do deserve the truth and complete honesty, THAT WE DON'T GET FROM OUR OWN GOVERNMENT!!

[@david7043ddd]

Your gov doesn't belong to the people. That's sad but truth. Why they ban tiktok ? It's all about money (Advertising fees).

[@hxhdjjfj]

@@david7043ddd All bout money? NAH, IT'S INFORMATION CONTROL AND MONEY

[@SKLSIYU]

@@hxhdjjfj In this way, many people still believe in the media controlled by the United States, regardless of whether it is true or not.

[@1533TodaVida]

@@david7043ddd Like a teenager getting banned from TikTok for talking about the Chinese communist party genocide against Muslims?

[@david7043ddd]

​@@1533TodaVida I dont' know what you mean. Chinese musilims has more than 1000 year's history. Why don't you come to china and find out the truth. If you did come, leave me a message.

[@britneylowe9209]

At least let the man reply if your going to ask a question .. this isn’t fair

[@docaz9453]

As MalcomX have said american democray is hypocricy

[@雪豹闭嘴-r9x]

"Mr.Chew, guns, drugs, crime on tiktok. Is this your masterpiece?" "No, this is yours masterpiece, Congressman."

[@xovicc9426]

Why is this called a hearing if they aren’t even willing to hear what he has to say? They’ve already come up with a conclusion before the hearing even started, and interrupt him every 3 seconds when he tries to answer. Aswell, on the rare occasion, where he can actually get his answer out, they just accuse him of lying. It’s honestly embarrassing how that one congress woman’s only argument was “frankly I don’t believe you.” Why are people who don’t know how the internet work making decisions about the internet?

[@CH-uy3yu]

is a one way hearing for congress to vent their stupidity and hearsay ....no reply needed......waste of time

[@StqrryD3mon]

RIGHT?

[@NM-pn2bc]

People like you are not fooling anybody. The CCP cannot be allowed to have access to big data that it doesn't own. Tik Tok must be banned.

[@mianmian3488]

It was just a disgusting political show. Questions full of traps can only be answers yes or no? The young CEO is also trained to dodge those traps though. Then the media show time to tell their own stories, because who is dumb enough to waste their 5hrs of life watching it.

[@yusumnn2007]

He could simply answer a yes or no. But he didn’t.

[@access5187]

Imagine him being american. How would the conversation be easier

[@victorchizurum3979]

The CEO dealt with all the questions even though they don’t allow him talk

[@Rainbow_1312]

An innocent person being interrogated by a panel of criminals...

[@danielguo1033]

That’s reason why Tiktok should be definitely banned! Kid you be watching Tiktok to much!😂

[@Ferahtub]

Innocent?

[@Fuccachi]

innocent chinese CEO ? please :D

[@SNAAAKEED]

​@@danielguo1033 I don't inherently belive that both parties here are innocent, but the fact that you said "band" as In a group of musicians and not *banned, gave me a good chuckle.

[@ma7colm]

@@danielguo1033how old are you

[@1dklmf40]

Alternate title: 5 hours of interrupting the CEO of TikTok

[@KennyBrown-k6f]

If congress was going to ban TikTok they would have done it already and now there being sued by TikTok and now they can’t lie about it they deserve too be sued

[@joey3291]

I don't use Tiktok but this hearing make me sick, the poor man was not even allowed to answer the questions

[@Z33RO]

This right here really shows the U.S. citizens who and what our "representatives" actually represent. There will be serious repercussions due to this push for a TikTok ban.

[@HoopsMacabre]

There’s only one thing I have taken away from all of this: America and its government is an incompetent, senile, corrupt and horribly bad joke

[@Talia_IceCreamPaints]

I agree.

[@shipwreck9146]

Yeah, I highly doubt Biden gets re-elected if Tiktok is banned.

[@nicolashiggins1594]

Haha, the world isn’t scared of China. China is on its own, and will never be a world power. Not whilst President XI Winnie The Pooh is in power

[@ChickenNuggies]

"does tiktok access the home wifi network" uhhh can we get computer literate people on there lol

[@Ashley_Schaeffer]

At a very basic level sure... But you clearly know nothing about network packet filters and net snoops... You use a computer good for you!

[@polaris1985]

I'll take that as a yes!

[@aflyingcowboy31]

Yea there isn't actually anything wrong with that question though, accessing the wifi network is a completely different question to does it use your home wifi, he is asking if Tiktok is given access to the local network, which if true means it can collect information about other devices nearby/or on that network, it is a privacy question. Also going off how many likes you have, yea it seems most people aren't actually as computer literate as they think, Cyber Security professionals have already gone over Tiktok and found it pretty iffy due to how Chinese companies work, multiple other countries have come to this realisation as well, hence why multiple Governments have banned having Tiktok on government devices.

[@kidolla7984]

Funny af 😂😂

[@tumescent]

@@aflyingcowboy31 It had the makings of a valid question but the initial delivery was laughably illiterate. Just ask "does TikTok access/probe for other devices on a user's home network" done plain and simple

[@lisaasil27]

I don’t use TikTok much, and it’s not my favorite social media network. However, I have tremendous respect for the TikTok CEO. I admire how calm and composed he was in the situation. Most people would have outbursts, feel depressed, and be stressed in such circumstances and considering how they were treated. This is an attitude that I want to learn from him.

[@robertlee8862]

We could see US congress are generally hysterical about foreign companies especially from China about everything 🙄

[@tinwas_taken]

Wow! Guns not being restricted, but tiktok is?! Wow, I love our government.

[@docaz9453]

​@Kevin then china was right to bann youtuve and facebook for same reason and unlike tiktok those two have shown how they used to create agenda for usa especially in ukraine war era

[@seva4241]

No one in that room has the experience or knowledge to ask this guy these questions. I am at a loss for words on how ludicrous this is. His patience is admirable.

[@abdullahalghamdi1763]

Miss Clark did a good job in my opinion I agree with what she had said

[@exposenetworklimited4497]

🤦‍♀️ you obviously a 🤡… it takes 2 minutes of looking thru TikTok code to see they do forward information…. Are we suppose to allow these pos to do this?? Btw you’re not American so stop saying you are! Maybe next time you claim that unlinked ur fb 🤡

[@mikaylaroberson7877]

I have a few things to say about this: The fact that most of the congressmen/women talk about TikTok "influencing" suicide was the funniest thing I've heard my whole life. Before TikTok was a thing, we had MOVIES, BOOKS, and TV SHOWS depicting suicide that EVERYONE with a TV or access to public libraries were exposed to. TikTok alone isn't responsible for increased depression in our younger generations' lives, it's everything around us. Hell, the members of this congressional "House Energy & Commerce Committee" asking questions increased my depression because I realized that these are the people "leading" my country and passing my laws that I must abide by. Also, the fact that they only mention "young females" being targeted is sexist, because young men are targets as well. Remember everyone, not all sexual predators are men, they're are a substantial amount of women that target young people as well. Another thing, yes China sees the US as an obstacle to gain global "super power" over, but the US also sees China the same way. Our government is so hypocritical it's almost funny. I don't use TikTok often, and when I do my for you page is FULL of cute animals, people doing good deeds, funny videos, and cute fashion videos. NEVER have I seen anything relating to illegal substances, glorified eating disorders, or videos advocating self-harm/suicide. I do see people talking about their mental illnesses and sexual abuse, but they talk about how they OVERCAME the traumas with the help of therapy, speaking to people, and having support from their friends. Mental illness is still seen as a "taboo" to talk about in the older generations, so a lot of people don't have support from their families. Their families usually just chalk it up as a "phase" that will go away like everyone's "Hannah Montana" phase back in the early 2000's, which adds to the depression of the individual who is seeking help and had the COURAGE to talk to their families about it. I fully respect and envy Mr. Chew's patience during this whole "hearing" because I know damn well if I was in his position I would've been having full blown arguments with every single member of the congress. Especially the woman from Florida interrupting all smug-like and not letting him BREATHE A SINGLE WORD. They're all so "worried" about TikTok promoting against the US government, but the members of the congress that were present during this so-called "hearing" are why citizens are losing faith in our country's leaders. This was almost as painful as when Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by them. The only thing that made it better was that Mr. Chew was better at trying to answer the questions given to him because he actually fucking cares about his company. I'm not sorry for the essay, I said what I said, and I'll always stick by my words. I fully respect and envy Mr. Chew's patience during this whole "hearing" because I know damn well if I was in his position I would've been having full blown arguments with every single member of the congress. Especially the woman from Florida interrupting all smug-like and not letting him BREATHE A SINGLE WORD. If you read all of this, I honestly don't care if you agree with me or not, this is all my opinion, and being a US citizen I have the right of freedom of speech. Though it doesn't feel like it from this video.

[@tangxiaoshutong]

Bro, China never wants to defeat anyone to become the super power, it’s just the US itself losing its super power and your government chose to blame this on China’s growing to blind your people. The US sees China as their enemy first.

[@feltond]

no one reading allat

[@youtubecody-mps]

In my area, there is a saying that applies to people like you, and that is: People with broad vision and deep thinking shine brightly wherever they go.

[@kamsimyip4966]

Yes, agreed with you. When I do use Tik Tok, I see gardening, plantings, funny things, and of course foods.

[@TheMessengerIsHere]

The US Congress needs to be fired.

[@moaayaad10]

They formulate bad narrow questions and then demand a yes or no answer what a joke

[@iloveyoo6412]

That’s what confused me the most, like this is such a complex hearing so ask complex questions and EXPECT complex answers. These children that we call congress people are a literal joke 😅

[@ll4680]

TIK TOK WILL BE GONE SOON! Go dance and like a idiot before its too late

[@kathg126]

This is outrageous. Our schools are suffering with low test scores, outdated books, and teachers with poor pay and they want to get so worked up about an app. My parents controlled a lot of what I saw as a child and now I do the same for my child (Not saying I haven’t made some mistakes) but these people just prove what it’s like to live in American today. The almighty dollar reigns supreme and they don’t care as long as we pump out mindless little drones, ready to go into the workforce or a mountain of college debt because of these privatized colleges. These government fools have no idea what it’s like to live as an average American paycheck to paycheck and should be removed and replaced with people who actually have had to work for a living. And how dare we actually talk to/parent our children and explain what reality is and isn’t and also how to process the things they see. Let’s ban everything so they can’t think for themselves. LETS SET TERM LIMITS FOR THESE POLITICIANS and elect people who know what the internet actually is!!

[@propertieswithmariaisabel]

Term limits on Congress members would be amazing. Hey, the president has a term limit. Why not Congress members!

[@bffjdyhgjk9119]

@@propertieswithmariaisabel In China, (1) the state can force Chinese nationals at home and abroad to carry out military activities in their respective countries (National Defense Mobilization Law, effective in 2010); (2) the state can force Chinese nationals at home and abroad to do spy activities in their respective countries. (National Intelligence Law, effective 2017). Chinese citizens who do not follow the instructions and orders of the Chinese government will be arrested and have no option to decline. Together, these two laws create the most dangerous security situation for every country. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 Everyone from FBI directors to FCC (Federal Communications Commission) commissioners to cybersecurity experts have made clear the risks of TikTok being used to spy on users. It mentions that the Chinese company collects TikTok user data, which it says includes users' (1) personal information, (2) intellectual property, and (3) location data. The Chinese Government could use Tiktok to collect data on billions of users or control the recommendation algorithm for ‘Influence Operation’. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 TikTok is owned and operated by Beijing-based Chinese company ByteDance, and Chinese law requires the app's data to be made available to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Under China's National Intelligence Law (effective 2017), the Chinese government can demand all data from all Chinese companies around the world. TikTok previously said all U.S. users are stored in the U.S., but in July confirmed that employees in China and outside the U.S. could access U.S. user data. At a congressional hearing in September, TikTok executives refused to promise to stop American data from flowing to China. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 TikTok's US privacy policy indicates the company may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information such as face prints and voice prints. TikTok's US privacy policy : “We may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information as defined under U.S. laws, such as faceprints and voiceprints, from your User Content. “ 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 The government of Lithuania in Europe has called for a boycott of Chinese smartphones, citing surveillance features. In order to prevent Lithuanians from accessing information that is inconvenient for the Chinese government, China is indirectly monitoring it through mobile phones.🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 Lithuania has been calling for a boycott of Chinese smartphones because they have surveillance functions. In September 2021, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense warned that the products of Xiaomi, 小米集团, a major Chinese smartphone circulating in the country, have a built-in function to detect terms that the Chinese government is wary of and restrict the use of content. The ministry called on public institutions and consumers to boycott smartphones made in China and dispose of purchased products. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸 According to a report released by the Ministry of Defense, Xiaomi's smartphone had a built-in function to detect terms that the Chinese government warns against, such as "Free Tibet" and "Long live Taiwan independence." More than 400 terms are believed to be subject to monitoring, and if those terms are included in content downloaded by users, the download will be automatically blocked. It also confirmed that encrypted phone usage data was sent to a server in another country. A senior Lithuanian defense ministry official said: "We recommend that you do not buy new Chinese smartphones, and if you have already bought one, dispose of it as soon as possible." 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 China’s attempts to spread propaganda and disinformation emphasize speed over quality. Nobel prize, scientists: 25 Japanese, 2 Taiwanese, 3 Chinese. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 Taiwan "problem" is of utmost concern to Chinese operatives, many of whom are Chinese university students, who carry out the Chinese government-led propaganda "disinformation diffusion operation." Taiwan is one country and not part of China. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 There is no historical record available to show whether China undertook unbroken and continuous sovereignty actions against the Spratly Islands (southern South China Sea) prior to the Japanese occupation in 1939. China's territorial claims are groundless. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 After World War II, Japan renounced its claims to the Spratly Islands. However, it was not clear whether any state would inherit the right to claim the Spratly Islands (southern South China Sea). Therefore, there are no historical documents to support the Chinese government's claims. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 The world will decouple from China and Russia. The world will put the most severe economic sanctions on China as we do on Russia. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇳🇿🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇸🇯🇵

[@bffjdyhgjk9119]

@@propertieswithmariaisabel Chinese government-led propaganda by Chinese agents seeks to undermine trust in Japanese political institutions and influence Japan's elections themselves. Interference in Japanese public opinion by Chinese agents pretending to be Japanese in various comment sections is an act of war against Japan. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 Chinese operatives find their way into any place where there is openness. Chinese operatives often use typical Japanese surnames (full names), names of historical figures, and celebrities, have multiple accounts, and press the like button themselves. For Chinese operatives, many of whom are Chinese university students, who carry out the Chinese government-led propaganda “disinformation campaign,” the Taiwan “problem” being primary concern. Taiwan is a country and not part of China. Okinawa is also targeted. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 In June 2020, Twitter deleted more than 170,000 accounts linked to the Chinese government-led propaganda "disinformation campaign." In addition to disseminating information from China, it targets the democratization movement in Hong Kong and disseminates the credibility of the United States. This Chinese government-led propaganda is also being carried out in Japan. Twitter announced in June 2020 that it had removed more than 170,000 accounts believed to be linked to a Chinese government-led disinformation campaign. These accounts targeted Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and also sought to discredit the United States. In order to spread its claims and false information, the Chinese government either directly controls the state or deploys a large number of accounts that are connected to it while pretending to be otherwise. It is operated and expanded by 150,000 accounts that correspond to the network “proliferation agent” involved in the Chinese government. While the Chinese government systematically spreads geopolitical topics favorable to the Chinese Communist Party through online comments, it continues to spread false information and propaganda about political developments in Hong Kong. There were 23,750 accounts that played a very active core role in Chinese government-led intelligence operations. This Chinese government-led propaganda campaign is aimed at Japan. The aim is to shape public opinion in Japan. The information manipulation led by the Chinese government is a method that uses a large number of accounts to overwhelm discussions on the Internet. The Chinese government's attempts to spread propaganda and disinformation emphasize speed and scale over quality. The "tone" of the Chinese operative's comments, the tone of the language, is devised to create the perception that the comments are the opinions of the average Japanese. Some of the Chinese government-led propaganda posts target not only Japanese but also Chinese residents in Japan. Chinese government-led propaganda is critical of democracy and supportive of anti-democrats. Even as Twitter has embarked on a mass deletion of accounts, Chinese operatives have been filling the void within days by launching new accounts or reusing existing ones. Comments by Chinese operatives to discourage Hong Kong citizens seeking U.S. help in democratization: ``Abandon unrealistic illusions immediately and cut ties with the U.S. side'', ``Think twice before making mistakes'' . Chinese government-led operatives continue to spread geopolitical narratives favorable to the Chinese Communist Party and comment propaganda about Hong Kong politicians. Similarly, Chinese agents are targeting governments and politicians in Taiwan, the United States, and Japan. 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵 One of the accounts of a Chinese agent who posts pro-Russian comments registered in June 2020, changed its account name 549 times, changed the location 69 times, and posted 5,652 comments in less than a year. It had 165,765 likes made by itself. The Chinese operative pretends to be Japanese and also makes comments about ``the operative''. Chinese operatives try to spread propaganda by using enemy’s key figures and specific cases with lies. Chinese operatives try to influence public opinion by lying to Japanese people (propaganda) since peacetime. Chinese agents try to gauge the intentions of the Japanese, lure them off guard, and discourage them from fighting evil. Chinese operatives try to gain the initiative by claiming the opposite false "facts" to the enemy's (Japanese) comments, denying and counterattacking. Chinese operatives try to explain the rationality and legality of their country's actions with lies, and try to condescend on a humanitarian basis. Chinese operatives spread propaganda by telling false battlefield environmental information. Chinese operatives use the psychological characteristics and weaknesses of their enemies (Ukraine, US, and Japan) to promote division and chaos. Chinese operatives change account names and impersonate other people to post, trying to strengthen the psychological defense line of allies. Chinese operatives show off the military power (nuclear weapons) of them and their allies and shallowly try to intimidate and scare the enemy. Just like the Russian government. Chinese operatives develop propaganda against the enemy (Japanese) not only in wartime but also in peacetime through military-civil union (integration of military and civilian resources). Chinese operatives try to propagate the false "military predicament" of the enemy (Ukraine, US, Japan). Chinese operatives seek to spread propaganda of limited "political dominance" of them and their allies "other than human rights issues." 🇯🇵🇺🇦🇹🇼🇱🇹🇨🇦🇺🇸🇯🇵

[@GRAITOM]

Your confused everything you are saying about the kids is almost a direct result of the immense use of tik tok. It's seriously is a cancer. Did you even listen to anything more than 5 minutes of this hearing?

[@iluvtruth]

Because your schoolchildren don’t give mulah, why care?

[@wuxin31]

Mr. Tim Walberg’s solo show, why do you ask questions without letting others answer it?😂

[@DuckDinoDynamo]

Bro won a 1v50 💀

[@omeralfarhan7213]

Its ok for american companies to collect this data but not for tik tok... they just are not happy with tiktok having big share of the market and want to do whatever they can to reduce their share of the market.

[@bornrich9264]

That’s America for ya. If it’s not their then no one else can have it.

[@tinwas_taken]

Facebook is 10x worse than tiktok. And they don’t investigate that? Oh wait, Facebook is an AMERICAN company!!!

[@elvinyeo7230]

You made Singapore proud with your demeanor

[@Lamb-R0tt]

I can’t believe these bumbling clowns are representing the USA. They don’t even fully let Mr. Chew EXPLAIN himself fully “It’s a complicated matter” “Just yes or no” Some things require much more detail than just yes or no.

[@mottscottison6943]

Blame a Chinese company for your society's own failure will solve your problems

[@mark1h2023]

Congress be like: 👴 🧓 👨 🧓👶 👴🧓👴 🧓 👴 🧓 👴 🧓 👴 🧓👨🏿

[@pohleon9941]

Is just so obvious what’s in the minds of these congressmen and what they HAD ALREADY DECIDED… sadly.