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During a long appearance before the United States Congress, the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, defended himself against US lawmakers who accuse the ‘app’ of offering harmful content and inflicting “emotional distress” on young Americans, in addition to privacy fears and the direction of valuable data.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told US lawmakers that banning the platform would hurt the economy as hundreds of businesses and creators rely on the app to attract customers and generate revenue.
“It’s an app where people can be creative. There are close to five million American businesses, mostly small, that use it to find customers and drive growth,” Chew told the House Energy and Commerce committee. of Representatives, while recalling that in the US there are around 150 million users.
Congress vetoed the download and use of TikTok from government devices and bills were presented that seek to prohibit its application on all mobile phones in the country, this because they consider it a threat from “enemies” such as China or Iran.
Chew defended himself, recalling that he is from Singapore, that TikTok is run by a team of executives from the United States and Singapore, and that the app is not available in China.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has Chinese founders and has raised fears among many lawmakers that the platform could be used or turned into a spy tool by China or the Communist Party.
“ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government. It is a private company. I have no proof that the Chinese government has access to the data. They have never asked us,” Chew said.
When asked if ByteDance spies on Americans, the businessman was ambiguous: “I don’t think spying is the right way to describe it.”
The Joe Biden Administration threatens ByteDance with a ban on the social network if it does not sell its shares in the app, with China stating that the ban would “undermine the confidence of investors from various countries, including China, in the United States.”
Content creators protest against the ban
To ensure Americans’ data is stored there, the company has contracted with Oracle, a leader in cloud-based services, and can only be accessed by staff from a new unit of the firm, TikTok US Data Security, the company explained. CEO of the app. But his argument did not convince those present.
“We do not trust that TikTok will ever embrace American values. It should be banned. Many of its employees still report directly to Beijing. We do not believe their arguments,” said the chair of the Energy and Commerce committee, Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
A group of content creators protested this Thursday in front of Congress for the restrictions imposed on TikTok.
“TikTok has allowed me to showcase my products, our process, interact with customers, and build a community. It has allowed me to share my passion for spreading joy and for handwritten cards. A TikTok ban would not only jeopardize my business. 95% of my livelihood would be gone overnight, along with this entire community of creators and customers that I’ve built through the platform,” commented user Callie Goodwin.
With Reuters and EFE
