TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will go before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday morning to protest a potential ban in the United States.

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Chew intends to tell Congress that he places a high priority on user safety, particularly teen safety, and that TikTok will protect U.S. user data from "unauthorized foreign access." Chew also intends to say that the company "will not be manipulated by any government," and that it will be transparent and allow independent monitors to assess its compliance.

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TikTok has promoted "Project Texas," a sophisticated scheme aimed at assuaging US worries over its ownership. According to the proposal, it would base its data operations in the United States and allow third parties to examine and submit its code to app stores.

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TikTok is controlled by Chinese internet behemoth ByteDance, and there have long been concerns among US lawmakers that the Chinese government may force TikTok to hand over the vast trove of personal data it collects as part of its business model.

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The White House allegedly asked last week that ByteDance sell TikTok after two years of discussions with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. "If the story is genuine, China will fiercely resist it," a Chinese trade ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

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The Biden administration has also backed a new bipartisan Senate measure that would give the Commerce Department the authority to prohibit TikTok in the United States. That measure and others like it have dozens of co-sponsors in Congress, both Democrats and Republicans.

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TikTok, which allows young people to produce and share short videos, became a viral success in the United States. Yet, the corporation said last week that it had 150 million users in the United States, which, if accurate, equates to roughly 60% of the population.

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