WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Ed Markey on Friday said Congress should investigate a deal finalized Thursday by TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to establish a majority American-owned joint venture that will secure U.S. data in a bid to avoid an American ban on the social media app. Markey said the deal leaves many key questions unanswered. "The White House has provided virtually no details about this agreement, including whether TikTok’s algorithm is truly free of Chinese influence. This lack of transparency reeks," Markey said. "Congress has a responsibility to investigate this deal, demand transparency, and ensure that any arrangement truly protects national security while keeping TikTok online.” (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
