Yes, tethered shooting over USB is generally safe, and damaging USB “surges” are very unlikely in normal use.

A typical mains power surge is more likely to affect the computer or power supply than send damaging voltage through a standard USB connection to the camera. In normal USB use, the more common issue is a device trying to draw too much power, which usually causes the port or device to stop working temporarily rather than causing permanent damage.

If you want to minimize risk further:

• Avoid questionable powered USB hubs.
• Prefer a normal USB port over a USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) port if possible.
• Be cautious when the camera is connected to multiple devices at once, especially anything else tied to mains power, such as studio strobes or external monitors.
• Use good-quality cables and a stable computer power setup.

So: for ordinary studio tethering, there’s no strong reason to avoid it. Just keep the setup simple and avoid unnecessary powered connections to the camera at the same time.