Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, attempted to make a direct appeal to the social media platform’s user base in the United States just as American lawmakers start discussing a forced sale or an outright ban.
Both Republican and Democrat members of Congress have expressed concerns over reports key members of the Chinese Communist Party have full-scale access to the user data of Americans via the TikTok app — an app that is heavily utilized by American young people who spend more time viewing it than any other social media platform.
“I’m super excited to announce that more than 150 million Americans are on TikTok,” Chew stated as part of a recent video message that was filmed on location in Washington D.C. prior to its posting on the platform. “This includes more than 5 million businesses that use TikTok to reach customers.”
He also spoke out in reference to the 7,000 individuals employed by the American branch of TikTok as he explained the current “pivotal moment” they were sitting at. The highly popular vertical video platform is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing headquartered Chinese technology firm.
“Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok,” he went on. “Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you. I’ll be testifying before Congress later this week to share all that we’re doing to protect Americans using the app and deliver on our mission to inspire creativity and to bring joy.”
One recent proposal saw a promise being issued by TikTok to foot a $1.5 billion bill to protect use data and make sure that officials in China do not have direct access to said information. The United States Committee on Foreign Investment, a group of nine cabinet-level officials tasked with the job of looking over the national security implications of international investments, quickly shot down the proposal and called on ByteDance to sell off the platform or face consequences.
Legislators from the House Energy and Commerce Committee are slated to question Chew about the platform’s security and privacy practices, along with the relations held with the Chinese Communist Party and impacts on the health of young users.
“Americans deserve to know the extent to which their privacy is jeopardized and their data is manipulated by ByteDance-owned TikTok’s relationship with China,” expressed House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) last week in a statement. “What’s worse, we know Big Tech companies, like TikTok, use harmful algorithms to exploit children for profit and expose them to dangerous content online. We need to know what actions the company is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms.”
