TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will inform lawmakers the Chinese-owned brief video app with greater than 150 million American customers hasn’t ever, and would by no means, percentage US person knowledge with the Chinese executive amid rising US nationwide safety issues.
“TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, US user data with the Chinese government. Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made,” Chew will testify on Thursday, in step with written testimony posted on Tuesday via the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.
He added that TikTok’s dad or mum corporate ByteDance isn’t owned or managed via any executive or state entity. “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew would say to the committee.
TikTok’s critics concern that its US person knowledge might be handed directly to China’s executive via the app and triggered rising calls to prohibit the app via US lawmakers. Last week, TikTok mentioned the Biden management demanded that its Chinese house owners divest their stake within the app or it might face a US ban.
“Bans are only appropriate when there are no alternatives. But we do have an alternative,” Chew’s testimony mentioned.
TikTok has mentioned it has spent greater than $1.5 billion on what it calls rigorous knowledge safety efforts underneath the title “Project Texas.”
Chew mentioned when the method is whole “all protected US data will be under the protection of US law and under the control of the US-led security team. Under this structure, there is no way for the Chinese government to access it or compel access.” to it.”
The corporate mentioned it had began this month to delete US person safe knowledge in knowledge facilities in Virginia and Singapore after it began routing new US knowledge to the Oracle Cloud ultimate 12 months. Chew’s testimony mentioned it expects this procedure to be finished later this 12 months.
Chew’s testimony says 60% of ByteDance is owned via world institutional buyers together with Blackrock, General Atlantic, and Sequoia, about 20% via the corporate’s founders, and about 20% owned via its staff “including thousands of Americans.”
TikTok mentioned on Monday that greater than 150 million folks within the United States use TikTok on a per 30 days foundation after pronouncing in 2020 that 100 million Americans used the app. Chew’s testimony says the typical person these days is an grownup well beyond school age.
“While users in the United States represent 10% of our global community, their voice accounts for 25% of the total views around the world,” Chew’s testimony says.
Chew says present variations of the app don’t accumulate actual or approximate GPS knowledge from US customers.