TikTok CEO defends his relationship with China and privacy in the US Congress

The US Congress began a hearing with the executive director of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, amid fears in Washington that the company has ties to the Chinese government and is harming national security.

“TikTok has repeatedly chosen the path of more control, more surveillance and more manipulation. Their platform should be banned,” said Cathy McMorris Rodgers.chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Energy, at the start of the hearing.

Shou Zi Chew, a 40-year-old Singaporean, appeared before the committee at 2:00 pm GMT for hours of questioning by Republicans and Democrats, who they fear that Beijing will undermine the app for espionage or propaganda purposes.

TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is under enormous pressure in Western countries: government officials in the US, UK and Canada, as well as the European Commission, were forced to remove the app from their devices.

The British broadcaster BBC advised its employees on Tuesday to remove TikTok from their phones.

The The most serious threat comes from the United States, where the government has issued an ultimatum to remove TikTok from Chinese ownership or face a full ban from the country.

A ban would be an unprecedented move against a media company by Washington, as it would deprive the country’s 150 million monthly users of an app that has become a cultural powerhouse, especially for young people, and the leading source of entertainment after Netflix.

alleged espionage

“ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew told the House committee.

“We believe there is a need for clear and transparent rules that are broadly applicable to all technology companies – ownership is not at the heart of addressing these concerns,” he added.

“The CCP can collect sensitive information (from American TikTok users) and determine what we ultimately see, hear and believe,” said Cathy McMorris Rodgers, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

In a particularly awkward moment, Chew acknowledged that some Americans’ personal information was still subject to Chinese law, but he insisted that would soon change.

Congressmen also confronted Chew with harrowing examples of young users promoting suicide or dangerous exercises that have proven fatal.

“Their technology literally leads to death,” Congressman Gus Bilirakis said, pointing to a family in the audience whose son was killed in a railroad tragedy that relatives say was linked to TikTok.

Warning from Beijing

Ahead of the hearing, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would “strongly oppose” a forced sale, stressing that any sale or spin-off of TikTok would require approval from Chinese authorities.

“Forcing the sale of TikTok (…) will seriously undermine the confidence of investors from several countries, including China, to invest in the United States,” added Shu Jueting, a spokesperson for the aforementioned portfolio.

A sale of the application, even with the agreement of all parties, would have been very complicated since then separating the powerful algorithm from “TikTok and ByteDance would be like a merged double operationWedbush analyst Dan Ives told AFP.

On Wednesday, a dozen teens, teachers and business owners turned to Congress to voice their opposition to a ban on the app and emphasized the benefits of TikTok for their lives and livelihoods.

Are there other platforms? Absolutely, I’m in it, but none have the reach of TikTok ”, Soap entrepreneur @countrylather2020 told her 70,000 followers in a video recorded shortly after arriving in Washington.

Chew promotes a business plan, known as Project Texas, to meet national security concerns, under which the handling of user data in the United States would be limited to a United States-controlled department.