The House China committee grilled Amazon about its partnership with TikTok, which was deemed "dangerous and unwise."
- Recently, Amazon held talks with the House China committee to address lawmakers' worries about its collaboration with TikTok.
- TikTok users can now buy Amazon products directly from within the app without having to leave.
- ByteDance's U.S. subsidiary, TikTok, may face a ban in January if it doesn't sever ties with its parent company.
In recent months, the House China committee held meetings with representatives to address concerns about TikTok's partnership with the company.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party confirmed a meeting that focused on a shopping deal between Amazon and TikTok, announced in August. This agreement enables TikTok users, who are owned by ByteDance, to link their account with Amazon and make purchases from the site without leaving TikTok.
According to Bloomberg, the Select Committee informed Amazon in September that it is risky to collaborate with TikTok due to the app's severe national security threat.
Neither Amazon nor TikTok immediately responded to a request for comment.
The future of TikTok in the U.S. is uncertain due to a law signed by President Biden in April, which requires ByteDance to sell the app by January 19. If TikTok does not separate from its parent company, app stores and internet hosting services will be prohibited from offering the app.
TikTok could be saved from a potential U.S. ban by President-elect Donald Trump, as he pledged to "save" the app during his campaign and stated in a March interview with CNBC's Squawk Box that there are both good and bad aspects to the app.
In his first administration, Trump attempted to implement a TikTok ban. However, his stance on the issue shifted after meeting with billionaire Jeff Yass. Yass's trading firm, Susquehanna International Group, owns a 15% stake in ByteDance, while Yass himself has a 7% stake in the company, as reported by NBC and CNBC in March.
— CNBC's Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.
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