The background to the questioning is the recent discussion about the security risks linked to the social media platform and its Chinese parent company Bytedance. In February, the United States decided to restrict the use of Tiktok to government employees, while a discussion began about banning the app at the national level.
Tiktok’s CEO, Shou Chew, however, hits back at the accusations as “misconceptions”. In his speech, he addressed Tiktok’s ongoing work to protect the health of young people, as well as the importance of the app remaining free from the influence of state actors.
– As I see it, many risks that are pointed out are hypothetical or theoretical. I haven’t seen any evidence, Chew said.
“A weapon”
However, the opening did little to satisfy the members. For over five hours, the CEO had to answer questions about everything from deaths connected to dangerous “challenges” that are spread in the app to the newspaper Forbes revelation that Bytedance used Tiktok to monitor journalists.
Much focus was also placed on the insight Chinese actors have into the user data that Tiktok collects. Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers went so far as to call the app “a weapon used by the Communist Party to spy.”
The claim was refuted by Chew, who believes that the ongoing project “Texas” will protect American user data from transparency by moving it to servers in the United States. The idea is that all data will eventually be handled by an American company with only American personnel.
Tiktok: They didn’t want to listen
After the hearing, the company has directed sharp criticism at members of Congress, who it believes were not receptive to Tiktok’s arguments.
“Shou came prepared to answer questions. Unfortunately, the day was dominated by political gamesmanship for the gallery that failed to see the actual solutions that are already underway,” writes Tiktok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter to CNN.