Shou Zi Chew attempts to play down concerns over data and privacy as lawmakers call for ban on Chinese-owned app. Plus, majority of trans adults are happier after transitioning.

At a contentious congressional hearing on Thursday, TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, was forced to defend his company’s relationship with China and the safeguards it provides for its youngest users. This occurred amid a bipartisan push to completely ban the app in the United States due to concerns about national security.

The hearing was the first time a TikTok chief executive had spoken to US lawmakers. It was also a rare public appearance for the 40-year-old Chew, who has been mostly out of the spotlight as the social network grows in popularity. Although TikTok has tens of millions of users in the United States, lawmakers have long been concerned about China’s control of the app, a concern that Chew repeatedly attempted to dispel throughout the hearing. Permit me to state this categorically: In his testimony, Chew stated, “ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”

Members of the committee hammered Chew on his connection to executives at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, who lawmakers claim have ties to the Chinese Communist party, to get the discussion off to a strong start. The committee members inquired about Chew’s communication frequency and whether the company’s proposed solutions to US data security issues would provide adequate protection against Chinese laws that require businesses to make user data accessible to government.