TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

Both Republicans and Democrats expressed deep skepticism that the company won't share U.S. user data with the Chinese government while questioning Chew.

Lawmakers went on to reprimand the CEO over the safety of children, misinformation and targeted advertising. "You have repeatedly used the word transparency throughout this hearing," Palmer said. Chew admitted on Thursday that until Project Texas is complete, Beijing-based employees of TikTok would still be able to access U.S. They also said the app promotes misinformation like antivaccine advice and voter suppression campaigns. But, under the restructuring, the digital firewall would prevent Chinese employees from having access to Americans' personal information. The Biden administration told TikTok earlier this month that if its Chinese owners didn't sell their stakes in the app to a U.S. During the hearing, Chew was grilled about whether the app shares data with the Chinese government. Chew said TikTok does not promote or remove content at the request of Chinese authorities. They fear China's authoritarian regime could use the app to spy on, or blackmail, the millions of Americans who use it every day. TikTok offered an alternative it's currently working on, called "Project Texas." In this scenario, the Chinese government couldn't access the data and it would be overseen by Oracle. journalists who were reporting on company leaks — an incident now being investigated by Justice Department, [according to Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/03/16/fbi-doj-investigating-bytedance-tiktok-surveillance-journalists/).

CEO Shou Zi Chew struggled to convince skeptical lawmakers that the app protects user data as momentum builds for banning the app over national security ...

[new CBS News poll](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-opinion-poll-2023-03-22/) found that most Americans say that TikTok's ties to China pose a security risk, and those who do would like to see the video-sharing app banned in the U.S. [several bills](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-ban-democrats-china-challenge/) that would empower the administration to ban TikTok nationwide. The chief executive told the panel that TikTok is building "what amounts to a firewall that seals off protected U.S. user data from unauthorized foreign access," including the establishment of a new corporate entity to oversee U.S. Neal Dunn of Florida about a report by Forbes in 2022 that revealed a group of ByteDance employees in Beijing had planned to "monitor the personal location of some specific American citizens." Data Security is incorporated in the U.S. The Justice Department is said to be [investigating](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-bytedance-justice-department-investigation-spying/) ByteDance for possible spying on U.S. Some of that old data is still held in servers in Virginia and Singapore that could be accessed by engineers in China, according to Chew. "You damn well know that you cannot protect the data and security of this committee or the 150 million users of your app because it is an extension of the CCP," Cammack told Chew. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the committee's chair, said they "do not trust that TikTok will ever embrace American values." [Shou Zi Chew](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-ceo-shou-zi-chew/) struggled to reassure lawmakers that the massively popular social video app doesn't pose a risk to its 150 million users nor share user data with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Members of both parties spent hours denouncing TikTok's data collection practices and painting it as a tool used by the Chinese government to track and spy on Americans.

TikTok executive seeks to push back on legislators' claims that the Chinese-based app poses a national security threat.

“You’ve actually done something that in the last three to four years has not happened except for the exception of maybe Vladimir Putin. “If you use our app, you can go on it expressing content on that topic and many others.” You have unified Republicans and Democrats” Chew responded that TikTok employs 40,000 moderators to track harmful content, as well as an algorithm to flag controversial material. “We do work very hard.” For his part, Chew sought to portray the app, which has 150 million monthly users in the US, as “a place where people can be creative and curious”. Legislators also turned to broader social media issues, questioning TikTok’s ability to moderate misinformation, harmful messaging and content that is not age appropriate. “We stand for freedom and transparency, and we don’t want your project.” She noted the post had been on the app since February 10. Chew dismissed allegations that TikTok posed a national security threat. [#TikTok]’s Beijing Communist-based ownership and its popularity exacerbates its dangers to our country and our privacy. “Please rename your project.

Chew attempted to persuade lawmakers not to pursue a ban on the app or force Chinese parent company ByteDance to give up its ownership stake, testifying that ...

Chew's decision to emphasize TikTok's reach in the U.S. After earning his MBA, he became a partner at venture capital firm DST Global, where he worked for five years and helped facilitate investment in the company that became ByteDance. Most Americans likely first heard of Chew when he released a video this week speaking directly to TikTok's U.S. He graduated in 2006 from University College London and worked for two years at Goldman Sachs before moving to the U.S. Chew attempted to persuade lawmakers not to pursue a ban on the app or force Chinese parent company ByteDance to give up its ownership stake, testifying that TikTok prioritizes the safety of young users. He says the company plans to store all U.S.

TikTok's chief executive will face tough questions from lawmakers on Thursday who are convinced the Chinese-owned short video app should be barred for being ...

"Why the hysteria and the panic and the targeting of TikTok?" Last week, TikTok said President Joe Biden's administration demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential ban. "Let's do the right thing here - comprehensive social media reform as it relates to privacy and security." Some political experts say a TikTok ban could be damaging to Democrats who have used the platform to reach younger voters. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing will be chaired by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican who says she is unconvinced by TikTok's security commitments. user data would be shared with the Chinese government and that it fails to adequately protect children from harm.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified Thursday at a congressional hearing over concerns about user data collected by the popular video-sharing app and potential ...

Chew’s decision to emphasize TikTok’s reach in the U.S. After earning his MBA, he became a partner at venture capital firm DST Global, where he worked for five years and helped facilitate investment in the company that became ByteDance. Most Americans likely first heard of Chew when he released a video this week speaking directly to TikTok’s U.S. He graduated in 2006 from University College London and worked for two years at Goldman Sachs before moving to the U.S. Chew attempted to persuade lawmakers not to pursue a ban on the app or force Chinese parent company ByteDance to give up its ownership stake, testifying that TikTok prioritizes the safety of young users. He says the company plans to store all U.S.

The TikTok CEO, a former Goldman Sachs banker and Harvard grad, is on the hot seat as lawmakers consider banning the app.

Chew told the House panel that TikTok is building "what amounts to a firewall that seals off protected U.S. data and potential manipulation of the TikTok U.S. "Only vetted personnel operating in a new company, called TikTok U.S. user data from unauthorized foreign access," including the establishment of a new corporate entity to oversee the handling of U.S. National security experts have warned that TikTok, which has 150 million American users, could be used to spy on Americans or as a propaganda tool by the Chinese government. He was considered a good fit for TikTok because of his background in investment banking and his time at Facebook and DST Global, said Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities. Most Americans likely first heard of Chew when he released a video this week speaking directly to TikTok's U.S. ByteDance said in a statement that it "strongly condemned" the actions of those involved and they were no longer employed by the company. ecosystem." However, TikTok's status as a Chinese-owned company makes some national-security experts nervous. Chew reports to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo. Chew, born in January 1983 in Singapore, completed mandatory military service for the Singaporean government as a teenager.

Tech executives don't get an easy ride before Congress, but Shou Zi Chew's hearing was exceptionally bruising.

He didn't often take the fight back to members of Congress. In that country the version of the app for children younger than 13 is not available. But there were rare moments where he did push back - and effectively. Just look at Facebook and Cambridge Analytica." As of now, Mr Chew confirmed that ByteDance engineers in China do have access to data. Mr Chew did clarify that the children's version of the app is available in the US, and he would let his children use it if they were in America.

Facing questions from U.S. lawmakers, Shou Zi Chew shared a video statement this week wearing a hoodie and T-shirt, a combination that has become trite for ...

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This week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of Congress to address lawmakers' concerns about the app's Chinese ownership.

[not popular](https://www.businessinsider.com/jamaal-bowman-press-conference-tiktok-ban-xenophobic-red-scare-2023-3) with the app’s users, and a handful of them [arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday](https://twitter.com/UrsulaPerano/status/1638627522844983296?s=20) to protest. At one point, Georgia representative [Earl “Buddy” Carter](https://www.tiktok.com/@gbp97/video/7213775012883434795?_r=1&_t=8atY9JYvN6Y) asked Chew if phone cameras track users’ pupil dilations, only to appear profoundly confused by the answer. Another representative, North Carolina’s [Richard Hudson](https://www.tiktok.com/@hoolie_r/video/7213797620110626090?_r=1&_t=8atYA8kgQiE), seemed not to have a full grasp on how internet connection works, asking, “Does TikTok access the home Wi-Fi network?” During his [five-hour testimony](https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-hearing-congress-interrupting-grilling-ceo-ban-sale-2023-3), he vowed that the app prioritizes the safety of young users and outlined TikTok’s plan to move U.S. [TikTok](https://www.thecut.com/2023/03/tiktok-bans-what-to-know.html) CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of Congress to address lawmakers’ concerns about the app’s Chinese ownership. Because TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China and potentially subject to data audits from the Chinese government, the [Biden administration](https://www.businessinsider.com/banning-tiktok-bipartisan-issue-biden-trump-sale-last-resort-2023-3?utm_medium=ingest&utm_source=markets&_gl=1*z8z54c*_ga*MTcyOTUwODUyMS4xNjczMzgzOTAx*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3OTY3NTQ5Mi45LjEuMTY3OTY3NzY0MC42MC4wLjA.) wants to either force a sale to an American company or ban TikTok nationwide.