TikTok’s U.S. security chief testifies September 15: first public testimony since restructuring

TikTok’s U.S. Chief Security Officer Will Farrell is headed to Capitol Hill on September 15. He’ll testify before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the company’s first public executive testimony since TikTok’s U.S. restructuring wrapped up in January 2026.

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Lawmakers are likely to focus on one question right away: how much influence ByteDance still has over TikTok’s U.S. business after the forced divestiture. ByteDance kept a 19.9% stake, just under the 20% control threshold set in the 2024 sell-or-ban law. Day-to-day control, at least on paper, shifted to TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which is backed by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.

Project Texas will come up too. Expect questions about where TikTok’s U.S. data is stored, who can get access to it, and what protections are in place if ByteDance still provides technical support or software. Lawmakers may also zero in on the recommendation algorithm licensing deal, and whether that still gives ByteDance real leverage.

If you’ve been following TikTok’s future in the U.S., this hearing carries a lot of weight. It lands after the 2024 sell-or-ban law, the Supreme Court’s approval in January 2025, TikTok’s brief shutdown in the U.S., President Donald Trump’s pauses on enforcement, House Select Committee Chair John Moolenaar’s warning that ByteDance’s remaining stake could still leave an opening to Beijing, TikTok executive Adam Presser’s expected absence, and the Department of Justice’s recent position that the federal-device ban no longer applies.

The hearing will be available through the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party on September 15.

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