Lawmakers grilled TikTok CEO Chew for 5 hours in a high-stakes hearing about the app

Updated March 23, 20235:34 PM ET 

Dara Kerr

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023. The hearing was a rare opportunity for lawmakers to question the leader of the short-form social media video app about the company's relationship with its Chinese owner, ByteDance, and how they handle users' sensitive personal data.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew faced roughly five hours of questioning by dozens of lawmakers in a high-stakes hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday about the safety and security of the immensely popular app.

Republicans and Democrats alike grilled the 40-year-old Chew about China's relationship with his company, data privacy, possible teen addiction to the app, misinformation and fentanyl.

Front and center were concerns that TikTok's parent company Bytedance might be sharing data from U.S. users with the Chinese government.

"To the American people watching today, hear this: TikTok is a weapon by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on you and manipulate what you see and exploit for future generations," said Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.