TikTok CEO appeals to 150 million US users for support ahead of Congressional hearing
TikTok CEO appeals to 150 million US users for support ahead of Congressional hearing
The CEO of TikTok, the Chinese-owned brief video app under political examination in the United States, has urged its 150 million American users to share their enthusiasm for the product in order to avoid a US prohibition ahead of a crucial Congressional meeting.
In a video recording posted on Tuesday on TikTok’s official account on the app, Chew Shou Zi, TikTok’s Singaporean CEO, said that banning the app “could take TikTok away from all 150 million of” its US users, and urged them to tell House Representatives “what [they] love about TikTok.”
Making an appeal to its users
The appeal comes just two days before Chew is scheduled to appear before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, where lawmakers will question him about data protection and whether the app presents a national security risk. Chew, who grinned and was casually clad in jeans in the video clip, said the business has come at a “pivotal moment.”
Chew’s video received over 73,000 remarks on the platform in 20 hours, with some users thanking the app for assisting them in surviving the pandemic, learning horticulture and parenthood skills, and making new friends.
Other users, on the other hand, remarked on claims that the app was used to eavesdrop on specific people, as well as on its strong suggestion algorithms, which affect the type of content people consume.
TikTok’s growing worries
According to The New York Times, the US Justice Department has begun investigations into TikTok and its Chinese company ByteDance regarding potential monitoring of US citizens, including several journalists. Forbes revealed in December that ByteDance had monitored the personal data of several of the publication’s journalists. At the time, the Chinese firm stated that employees engaged in the incident had been fired.
Faced with growing worries in the United States about data security and TikTok’s connections to China, the company has been emphasising its global reach and effect on the local employment market.
It announced on Tuesday that it now has 150 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the United States, up from 100 million MAUs in 2020. Chew also stated in his video that it employs 7,000 people in the country and that the site is used by 5 million US businesses, primarily small and medium-sized businesses, to contact their consumers.
TikTok to go all in at Congressional hearing
According to a prepared statement posted on the website of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Chew is anticipated to inform US legislators that TikTok prioritises user safety and that user data is kept and controlled locally.
Chew characterises spying allegations as “not accurate” and “misconceptions about the type of data that TikTok collects” in the statement. According to the statement, “current versions of the app do not collect precise or approximate GPS information from US users.”
Also read: Surprise, surprise: TikTok lying about Chinese spying, former employee tells US Congress
According to US media outlets Politico and Forbes, Chew engaged consulting company SKDK – which has strong connections with US President Joe Biden – and has conducted a number of closed-door meetings with numerous House representatives in preparation of the hearing.
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