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has operated under the distant threat of a nationwide ban or forced sale. Now, mounting security and privacy concerns are prompting lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to debate its future. Last week, the short-form video platform with made headlines amid a highly publicized congressional hearing that brought TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew face to face with some of his toughest critics. Five palpably tense hours of questioning illuminated very little about what, if anything, Chew can do to quell lawmakers' fears.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Zenia Mucha, formerly Disney’s top spokesperson for almost two decades, was recruited to be part of the team that coached TikTok’s CEO for his congressional hearing earlier this month, according to a new report. In addition to Mucha, TikTok tapped former Obama advisers David Plouffe and Jim Messina to prep Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, for more than a month before Chew’s March 23 appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee — which observers said only reinforced anti-TikTok attitudes among both Republican and Democratic lawmakers concerned about the app’s Chinese ownership by parent company ByteDance. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mucha could not be reached for comment.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor About half of Americans are in favor of the U.S. government banning TikTok, the hugely popular video app owned by China-based internet giant ByteDance. Amid intensifying scrutiny of and antagonism toward TikTok, a newly released survey by Pew Research Center found that 50% of Americans support a U.S. government ban on the app, with 22% opposed and a sizable share (28%) unsure, according to a newly released survey conducted by Pew Research Center. Among those who actually use TikTok, just 19% support a ban. Given TikTok’s popularity among teens, it’s worth noting that Pew’s survey was fielded among U.S. adults (those 18 and older). Americans who are aware that TikTok is owned by the ByteDance are particularly likely to support banning it: About 60% of those surveyed who know TikTok’s parent company is based in China support the U.S. government banning the app, compared with 27% of those who are unaware of TikTok’s Chinese ties, according to the Pew survey.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The odds of the U.S. banning TikTok are higher after the app’s CEO testified before a House committee, according to some analysts. During the hearing, American politicians expressed frustration over what they saw as evasive and unconvincing answers about China’s influence over TikTok — and the communist regime’s ability to track user data — as well as its efforts to curb misinformation and harmful content, particularly in relation to children who use the app. In his D.C. appearance Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the popular app, used by more than 150 million American users monthly, as committed to ensuring privacy and security. He insisted, as TikTok has claimed before, that the company has never furnished U.S. user data to the Chinese Communist Party (nor has the CCP ever made such a request). Chew talked up TikTok’s “Project Texas,” intended to bring user data fully under the aegis of U.S.-based personnel and hosted on Oracle infrastructure.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In front of a panel of skeptical and often hostile U.S. representatives, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to make the case for why the popular app is not a security threat to the country — and why a government ban of the app would be the wrong course of action. A U.S. ban of the app would hurt the country’s economy, reduce competition and “silence the voices of over 150 million Americans,” Chew said in testimony submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing, titled “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms,” was held Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. The Biden administration recently demanded that ByteDance divest its ownership stake in TikTok or potentially be banned in the U.S. over national-security concerns given TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Under pending congressional legislation, which has bipartisan support, President Biden would have the authority to ban TikTok under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok, trying to fend off potential U.S. government ban over security fears related to the app’s Chinese ownership, is touting new figures reflecting how pervasive and popular it is in America. TikTok announced that as of February 2023, the short-form video app has more than 150 million monthly active users in the U.S. In addition, it said, it has almost 7,000 employees in the United States. And it also claims that TikTok “has evolved into the preferred platform” for nearly 5 million American businesses, most of which are small and midsize companies. “We’re honored to be a home for our immensely diverse community in the United States, made up of nearly half the country’s population, including book lovers, foodies, families, emerging artists and so much more,” the company said in the announcement.

The UK government has made the same move as the U.S. by banning TikTok on ministers and civil servants’ phones.

The Biden Administration appears to be playing hardball, insisting TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance divest the hugely popular video-sharing app in the U.S. According to the WSJ, it’s threatening a ban if that doesn’t happpen.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The White House has told TikTok that parent company ByteDance, the Chinese internet giant, must sell its ownership position in the popular video app or face a ban in the U.S., TikTok said on Wednesday. The U.S. government made the demand citing national security concerns. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), which is an interagency group oversees national security risks led by the Treasury Department that has the authority to block foreign transactions involving U.S. entities, “recently” demanded that ByteDance divest TikTok, per the Journal. 

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok is opening up a new monetization spigot for creators on the popular short-form video app. The Chinese-owned app announced Series, a new way for creators to sell their stories as premium content. With the Series feature, available initially only to select creators, users can post Collections of premium content behind a paywall that viewers can purchase. Each individual Series can include up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long, giving the TikTok community “a new, longer format to watch their favorite creators and content,” the company said. TikTok creators can select the price for their Series. The content can be purchased via direct in-video links or through a creator’s profile page. The company noted that, like all content on TikTok, Series videos must adhere to its community guidelines standards.

TikTok could risk musicians losing out on royalties, according to a former tech minister.The Conservative MP Damian Collins, the former Minister For Tech and the Digital Economy, has said that potential changes to the app that are currently being trialed in Australia will be unhelpful for artists who have achieved particular success on the platform.Per The Telegraph, TikTok has been carrying out a trial in Australia that limits the number of songs users can use in their videos. The move is part of an effort by TikTok to prove that music isn’t crucial to the app’s success amid clashes with record labels over royalties.Collins, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, accused TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, of “silencing creators in favour of their own self-interests” and “degrading” the music experience for users.

TikTok today unveiled new features for teens aimed at limiting screen time to an hour a day.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Hybe CEO Park Ji-won’s defence of his company’s recent acquisition of shares in rival SM Entertainment after its management hit out at the deal, plus concerns raised by two more US senators about TikTok and its Chinese parent company Bytedance and what access the Chinese government has to users and user-data on the video sharing platform.SECTION TIMES01: Hybe (00:06:51)02: TikTok (00:19:11)(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)SUBSCRIBE TO SETLISTListen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneInSTORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK• Hybe CEO defends his company’s bid to control rival SM Entertainment• Hybe boss sets out vision for SM alliance• Two more US senators hit out at TikTok over data concerns• European Commission bans staff from using TikTok on work devices over data concernsALSO MENTIONED• David Bowie archive acquisition (V&A press release)MORE FROM CMU• Upcoming CMU webinars• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin• Listen to the full Setlist theme tune

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor TikTok parent ByteDance has begun talks with music labels about expanding its music-streaming service into more than a dozen markets in a move that would place it in direct competition with Spotify, Apple Music and other major streaming services, according to the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, the initial plan is to expand the company’s Resso service, which is currently only available in India, Indonesia and Brazil, into more than a dozen markets, although the U.S. is not said to be part of the next phase of expansion. The Journal’s sources say significant hurdles remain in the negotiations, but ByteDance wants the service to eventually be integrated within TikTok and to serve as a major platform for distributing music around the world.

Wildly popular social media app TikTok is said to have a draft agreement in place with the U.S. government that would allow it to continue operating in the country while retaining Chinese ownership.

TikTok has filed patents for “TikTok music”, suggesting that the video sharing platform has a music streaming app in the works.As uncovered by Insider [further reporting via The Verge], ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, filed a trademark application in May with the US Patent and Trademark Office. It follows a “TikTok Music” trademark that was filed in Australia last November.According to the filing the service would let users purchase, play, share and download music.