TikTok CEO Sets Record Straight on China Links, Data Collection

TikTok CEO faces off against federal lawmakers in Congress over calls for a ban on the app
Washington officials were adamant about protecting US users' personal information and data
Federal lawmakers appeared unconvinced of Shou Zi Chew's testimony

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before federal lawmakers in Congress on Thursday amid skepticism of the company's attempts to protect its customers' user data in the United States and addressing concerns over its ties with the Chinese government.

The public hearing is a rare opportunity to listen to Chew, who has had very few interviews in the past. The situation also comes as the TikTok app has become one of the most popular in America and has more than 150 million active users.

TikTok CEO Testifies in Congress

Despite the hearing, which lasted more than five hours, lawmakers have already decided what to do with TikTok. Officials started the hearing with a call to ban the app in the country and continued to be adamant about that stance.

The scene offered a vivid display of the bipartisan push against the short video-hosting app and TikTok's tough battle to improve relations with the government. In a statement, the House Energy and Commerce Committee chair, Washington Republican Rep. Cathay McMorris Rodgers, told Chet his platform should be banned, as per CNN.

The TikTok CEO used his time testifying to emphasize his company's independence from the Chinese federal government. He noted that the app is unavailable in mainland China and that the company's headquarters is in Los Angeles and Singapore. Chew added that they had employed roughly 7,000 workers in the US.

In his opening remarks, Chew said they had heard the crucial concerns of potential and unwanted foreign access to US data and possible manipulation of the TikTok USS ecosystem. The CEO added that their approach has never been to dismiss or trivialize such concerns.

Federal Lawmakers Push for Ban on TikTok

The concerns come as TikTok does not operate within China, but the country's federal government usually receives significant leverage over businesses under its jurisdiction. This theory has been linked to TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, and has raised concerns that they could be forced to cooperate with a broad range of security activities.

The question at the heart of the hearing was what TikTok does with its users' data that it has collected. According to USA Today, the testimony of the company's CEO came as several congressional committees were looking into potential economic and national security risks that China brings about.

During the hearing, Chew tried to prove to American lawmakers that TikTok did not threaten the country's national security. In a statement, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester said that the hearing had left her with more questions than answers.

There are two options that the Joe Biden administration could go with regarding TikTok, the first of which is a ban. This would result in a potentially difficult court challenge. The second is revisiting stalled negotiations for a technical fix to the app's data security concerns, said the New York Times.