Pummel

TikTok’s future as an independent business is now in doubt. In a hearing on Thursday, members of Congress spent more than five hours pummeling TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew with questions about the company’s ties to China’s leadership. Not a single member of the committee stood up for the company, which is fascinating, given that Tik-Tok’s short-form video social network is so popular, with 150 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone.

It is now clear that Congress, and the White House, want TikTok spun off from its Chinese parent Byte-Dance. And if that doesn’t happen, they say they will shut it down.