Making “getting muted” observable and its social implications: microanalysis of US congressional hearing of TikTok CEO

Abstract

This conversation analytic study aimed to clarify the witness’s resistance as a social practice during the congressional hearing of TikTok’s CEO in March 2023 as a means of negotiating their public image. The analysis indicated that the committee members deprived the witness of the opportunity to contradict their critique, thus implying that the witness accepted it. However, by invoking the lawmakers’ institutional responsibility to hear from the witness through requesting a foreclosed sequential slot to respond, the witness could make publicly visible that his voice was “getting muted.” This resistance highlights the fact that the committee’s attitudes are more inclined to create public spectacles than to fulfill their responsibilities. Considering that congressional hearings are part of the legal system in that the witness’s words and behavior contribute to the committee’s shaping of legislation, even when the hearing is not specifically intended to address legislation, the committee’s failure to pursue its ostensible information-gathering purposes may have consequences beyond the immediate interaction. Therefore, the findings suggest that “proper understanding” of media discourse developed through congressional hearings would encompass criticizing a morally questionable way of collecting information from the witness.