Looks like the clock is ticking down for TikTok in the U.S., but tell that to the 150 million

Americans logging on.

From American public media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Megan McCarty-Kareno.

TikTok's CEO, Sho Chu, heads to Congress tomorrow to defend the app, known for its

viral dance videos and lip-syncing.

Against concerns, it poses a national security threat.

Pressure has been building from the White House and Congress to force the Chinese-owned

company to sell or face a nationwide ban.

And while TikTok and its parent company, Bite Dance, have never been in more political

hot water, over on the app, it's still all about viral pasta recipes and dogs demanding

a cheese tax, not a lot of paranoia about data privacy.

Shannon McGregor is an assistant professor at University of North Carolina's School of

Journalism and a social media researcher.

She says, the scrutiny TikTok is getting on Capitol Hill now.

We've seen that before.

This happened with the radio, and television, this is not distinct to social media, but

because of the very quick rise of especially Americans, especially young Americans using

TikTok.

We're seeing this sort of normal moral panic cycle play out.

And when we say TikTok has had a very quick rise, we're talking about 150 million Americans

using TikTok on a monthly basis, according to the company.

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