TikTok’s CEO is set to enter a Washington fight he cannot win

TikTok’s ownership by a Chinese company, and the national security risk that could pose to the viral video app’s users, have drawn most of the attention ahead of its chief executive's testimony to Congress. TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi is prepared for a variety of questions, including about kids’ mental health, from a House committee on Thursday.

The short video app’s 150 million users in the US and the strength of its content-recommendation engine mean any infraction is viewed as a potential societal threat. US lawmakers have spent the better part of this year warning about the risks posed by a platform intended for short, often silly videos. In Thursday’s US House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, they will have one person at whom they can direct those fears. Here’s what you need to know.

What are the toughest questions TikTok’s CEO is prepared for?

Chew will directly address persistent allegations that TikTok could be used to spy on Americans or to push Chinese Communist Party propaganda – both accusations that US lawmakers and government agencies have made against the app. This is territory where Chew feels confident in TikTok’s argument, according to people familiar with the matter, keeping focus on the facts of the app's extensive security measures.

But the hearing has the potential to get emotional. Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican, plans to confront Chew with stories of children who died by suicide, or after taking one fentanyl pill bought online or attempting a dangerous stunt seen on the popular social media app, whose users skew young, according to senior committee aides. Chew will be pressed to answer for the role TikTok played in those tragedies, the aides said.