and Transportation of the Senate, lawmakers expressed concerns that TikTok’s audio and user location data could be used by the CCP. (2) On September 14, 2022, lawmakers expressed concerns over TikTok’s algorithm and content recommendations posing a national security threat during a hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate with Vanessa Pappas, Chief Operating Officer of TikTok. (3) On March 23, 2023, during the testimony of TikTok CEO, Shou Chew, before the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, lawmakers expressed concerns about the safety and security of the application, including TikTok’s relationship with the CCP. (4) On February 28, 2023, former Deputy National Security Advisor, Matthew Pottinger, emphasized that it has already been confirmed that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has used the application to surveil United States journalists as a means to identify and retaliate against potential sources. The PRC has also shown a willingness to harass individuals abroad who take stances that contradict the Communist Party lines. The application can further be employed to help manipulate social discourse and amplify false information to tens of millions of Americans. (5) On March 23, 2023, Nury Turkel, the Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, raised the alarm that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has a strategic partnership with China’s Ministry of Public Security, and China’s domestic version of the application, Douyin, has been used to collect data and sensitive information from Uyghurs and other oppressed ethnic minority groups. (6) On July 26, 2023, William Evanina, the former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, pointed to TikTok as just one of many areas of concern that combine to paint a concerning picture of the CCP’s capabilities and intent as an adversarial, malign competitor. (7) On November 30, 2023, John Garnaut of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute