Ajit Karn
The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, testified before the US Congress amidst rising security concerns and the possibility of Chinese government influence on the company.
Chew was subjected to hostile questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he verbally juggled to prove that the social media behemoth is taking “real action” to address US national security concerns.
During a four-hour hearing, Chew repeatedly emphasized that the TikTok app, which is owned by the Chinese technology company Bytedance, has long maintained that it neither shares data with the Chinese government nor poses a threat to its 150 million US users, nor does it share their data with the Chinese Communist Party. (CCP).
During her line of questioning, US Representative Debbie Lesko cited India and other countries that have recently banned TikTok in some form.
“This (TikTok) is a tool that is ultimately controlled by the Chinese government, which raises serious national security concerns.” How can all of these nations and our FBI director be incorrect, Mr. Chew? asked Lesko.
“I believe that many of the dangers cited are hypothetical and theoretical. Chew responded, “I have seen no evidence.”
The congresswoman reiterated and emphasized the India restriction once more. “India prohibited TikTok in 2020. The data of Indian users of TikTok remained accessible to employees of the company and its Beijing-based parent, according to a March 21 Forbes article. A current TikTok employee told Forbes that anyone with basic access to the company’s tools can readily access the closest contact information and other sensitive information about any user,” Lesko informed her colleagues.
“This is a recent article; I have requested that my team investigate it. We employ stringent data access protocols. There is no way that anyone could gain access to the instruments. Therefore, I disagree with many of the conclusions,” Chew replied.
Due to privacy and security concerns, India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese applications, including the messaging app WeChat, in 2020. The prohibition came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at the LAC that resulted in the deaths of twenty Indian soldiers and the injuries of dozens more. The firms were given the opportunity to respond to queries regarding privacy and security requirements, but the ban became permanent in January 2021.
“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,” Florida lawmaker Kat Cammack told Chew after playing a threatening video that was still on the platform more than a month after it had been posted, despite community guidelines prohibiting threats and violence.
Republican representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers posed the question during a congressional hearing, and TikTok’s chief was unable to “guarantee” that Beijing was not influencing portions of the app. Chew stated that the company is committed to protecting US user data from “all unwanted foreign access” and that it will keep content “free from any government manipulation.”
Another New Jersey lawmaker expressed doubt that TikTok’s security measures would be effective. “I still believe that the Beijing communist government will control and have the ability to influence what you do,” he said in response to TikTok’s attempt to portray itself as “a benign company that’s merely providing a public service… I don’t buy it.”
China repeatedly stated hours before the hearing that it would not oppose any forced sale of TikTok, with its Commerce Ministry stating that any sale would entail the export of Chinese technology and would require government approval.
Also read this:China interrupts Dolkun Isa at UNHRC on Uyghurs, allowed to talk after US and Eritrea’s support
TikTok is already prohibited on federal government devices, including military devices, and an increasing number of U.S. states are banning it on government devices at the state level.
