CEO of TikTok, Shou Chew, is set to testify before congress and will urge the panel against the ban, citing that it has solutions to concerns regarding data.
CEO Of TikTok Is Set To Testify Before Congress
TikTok CEO Shou Chew will try to convince Congress that TikTok can help protect data of US users as well as help to maintain safety for the millions of Americans who use the services of the popular video app, according to prepared remarks shared by the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday.
Chew as you should know is scheduled to testify before the committee on Thursday about the privacy and data security practices of TikTok. Lawmakers are at the moment scrutinizing TikTok, and the app for that reason faces a possible ban in the US. The Biden-led administration in the early parts of this month demanded that ByteDance, which is the app’s Chinese parent company, sell its stake in the app.
The Concerns of US Officials over TikTok
Officials are concerned that US user data could be passed on to the Chinese government or that the Chinese government could however dictate what content is shown on TikTok in order to influence public opinion based in the US.
Chew however will argue that ByteDance is not an agent of China, but rather a global firm that will not allow unauthorized access to user data.
“TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government,” Chew will state, according to the prepared remarks. “Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made.”
Chew’s Alternative to a Ban
Chew also will argue that instead of a ban, there are alternatives that could address the concerns of US officials which is primarily a $1.5 billion effort to secure data, which TikTok has dubbed as Project Texas.
“Our commitment under Project Texas is for the data of all Americans to be stored in America, hosted by an American headquartered company,” Chew will reveal to lawmakers, with access to the data strictly controlled by a special TikTok subsidiary known as US Data Security Inc., or USDS.
TikTok to Discuss Its Commitment to Protecting Minors Who Uses the App
Chew will also discuss the commitment of the platform to protecting minors who use the services of the app. He will highlight instances and this is including how TikTok accounts registered to teens under 16 are stopped from sending direct messages and are set to private automatically.
“These measures go far beyond what any of our peers do,” Chew in the prepared remarks said.
Chew Turned Directly To TikTok Users to Bolster Support
Chew On Tuesday turned directly to TikTok users to bolster support, announcing that the app has 150 million users in America. He stated in a TikTok video that “some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok,” which would therefore “take away TikTok from all 150 million of you.”
He then asked people to share in comments what they want representatives to know about TikTok and the reason they love the app. The video has over 6 million views.
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