US lawmakers have grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about knowledge safety and destructive content material, with some pushing to prohibit the preferred short-video app national.
Chew, a local of Singapore, instructed lawmakers that TikTok prioritizes person protection as he sought to avert a US ban at the app by way of downplaying its ties to China.
Both Republican and Democratic representatives aggressively puzzled chunk on subjects together with TikTok’s content material moderation practices, its knowledge safety plans, and previous spying on newshounds.
Here’s a take a look at one of the issues about TikTok and its possession.
WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT?
TikTok, which has over 150 million American customers, is a completely owned subsidiary of Chinese generation company byte dance Ltd., which appoints its executives.
ByteDance is founded in Beijing however registered within the Cayman Islands, as is not unusual for privately owned Chinese corporations. Its headquarters is in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district, house to key universities and a hub for tech startups. TikTok has twin headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles.
Founded by way of Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming In 2012, ByteDance used to be mentioned to be valued at round $220 billion – just about part of its 2021 valuation of $400 billion. Publicly traded Chinese tech corporations and privately held ones like ByteDance have plunged in price because the ruling Communist Party tightened keep watch over over the trade with anti-monopoly and knowledge safety crackdowns.
Western governments fear Chinese government may drive ByteDance handy over TikTok knowledge on American customers, exposing delicate knowledge. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning mentioned Friday that China’s govt hasn’t ever and won’t ask corporations to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” held in overseas international locations, including the USA “has not provided any evidence so far to prove that TikTok threatens US national security.”
ByteDance says 60% of its stocks are owned by way of non-Chinese traders similar to US funding companies Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan’s SoftBank Group. Employees personal 20% and its founders the rest 20%.
Some main points of the connection between TikTok and ByteDance stay unclear to outsiders.
WHAT CHINESE RULES WORRY WESTERN GOVERNMENTS?
China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law states that “any organization” will have to help or cooperate with state intelligence paintings whilst a separate 2014 Counter-Espionage Law says “relevant organizations … may not refuse” to gather proof for an investigation.
Since ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is a Chinese corporate, it might most likely need to abide by way of those laws if Chinese government requested it to show over knowledge.
Laws and laws are just one facet of the Communist Party’s pervasive keep watch over. There are not any prison limits at the celebration’s powers. The government too can threaten to cancel licenses, habits regulatory or tax investigations and use different consequences to compel compliance by way of Chinese and overseas corporations running in China.
The celebration once in a while conveys orders the use of “window guidance,” or casual conversation in non-public. It has used crackdowns to tighten keep watch over over generation corporations and drive them to align with its targets.
The Chinese govt has additionally sought extra direct keep watch over over corporations by way of getting seats on forums of administrators.
MUST TIKTOK TURN OVER DATA IF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAYS SO, EVEN WITH “PROJECT TEXAS?”
TikTok has promised to offer protection to knowledge on American customers by way of storing it on servers operated by way of an outdoor contractor, Oracle Corp., in what is referred to as “Project Texas.” Chew, the TikTok CEO, mentioned all new US person knowledge is saved within the United States and the corporate must end deleting older US knowledge from non-Oracle servers this yr.
The worry is that ByteDance must surrender knowledge it bought from TikTok if ordered to take action by way of Chinese government, however Chew has mentioned Project Texas will put US knowledge out of China’s achieve.
ByteDance disclosed in December that 4 staff received get right of entry to to knowledge about journalists and other folks attached to them whilst in search of how details about the corporate used to be leaked. Chew instructed lawmakers China-based ByteDance staff would possibly nonetheless have get right of entry to to a few US knowledge however that would possibly not be the case as soon as Project Texas is whole.
In November, TikTok’s head of privateness for Europe mentioned some staff in China had get right of entry to to details about customers in Britain and the European Union.
DOES THE COMMUNIST PARTY HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON BYTEDANCE?
In Thursday’s listening to, lawmakers time and again attempted to pin down Chew on whether or not ByteDance had hyperlinks to China’s communist rulers.
He deflected questions on whether or not group of workers and best executives are Communist Party participants.
“I do know that the founder himself is not a member of the Communist Party, but we don’t know the political affiliation of our employees because that’s not something we ask,” Chew mentioned.
When puzzled whether or not ByteDance used to be successfully managed by way of the Chinese Communist Party, Chew mentioned he disagreed.
After a lawmaker mentioned the Communist Party holds a “golden share” in ByteDance that permits it to keep watch over one ByteDance board seat, Chew mentioned, “That’s not correct.”
In China, so-called golden stocks held by way of authentic funding price range are a technique for Beijing to achieve extra oversight over industry by way of giving them a 1% stake in corporations.
Chew driven again when lawmakers claimed that the Communist Party owns stocks in ByteDance that give it a vote in how the corporate is administered. “The Communist Party doesn’t have voting rights in ByteDance,” Chew mentioned.
ByteDance’s primary Chinese subsidiary is the license-holder for a few of its video and data platforms that simplest serve the China marketplace.
WHAT IS DOUYIN AND WHAT IS TIKTOK’S RELATIONSHIP WITH IT?
Douyin is ByteDance’s short-video platform for the China marketplace. It’s very similar to TikTok, however its content material is specific by way of Chinese censorship laws that restrict subject material deemed subversive or pornographic – some degree emphasised by way of US lawmakers apprehensive about destructive content material seen by way of younger other folks.
The Communist Party’s intensive web filters block maximum customers in China from seeing TikTok. ByteDance has mentioned TikTok has “no affiliation” with Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., the subsidiary that operates Douyin; Toutiaoa information and short-video platform, and different services and products.
HOW DID CHINA REACT TO THE TIKTOK CEO’S WASHINGTON TESTIMONY?
Most of the social media response in China used to be sympathetic to Chew, with reward for the way he treated the adversarial questions lobbed at him.
Comments on Douyin and microblogging platform Weibo have been vital of US lawmakers for asking Chew main or “trap” questions. Many commenters used a Chinese announcing that implies “If you want to accuse someone, there’s always a way.”
Chew, a local of Singapore, instructed lawmakers that TikTok prioritizes person protection as he sought to avert a US ban at the app by way of downplaying its ties to China.
Both Republican and Democratic representatives aggressively puzzled chunk on subjects together with TikTok’s content material moderation practices, its knowledge safety plans, and previous spying on newshounds.
Here’s a take a look at one of the issues about TikTok and its possession.
WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT?
TikTok, which has over 150 million American customers, is a completely owned subsidiary of Chinese generation company byte dance Ltd., which appoints its executives.
ByteDance is founded in Beijing however registered within the Cayman Islands, as is not unusual for privately owned Chinese corporations. Its headquarters is in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district, house to key universities and a hub for tech startups. TikTok has twin headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles.
Founded by way of Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming In 2012, ByteDance used to be mentioned to be valued at round $220 billion – just about part of its 2021 valuation of $400 billion. Publicly traded Chinese tech corporations and privately held ones like ByteDance have plunged in price because the ruling Communist Party tightened keep watch over over the trade with anti-monopoly and knowledge safety crackdowns.
Western governments fear Chinese government may drive ByteDance handy over TikTok knowledge on American customers, exposing delicate knowledge. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning mentioned Friday that China’s govt hasn’t ever and won’t ask corporations to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” held in overseas international locations, including the USA “has not provided any evidence so far to prove that TikTok threatens US national security.”
ByteDance says 60% of its stocks are owned by way of non-Chinese traders similar to US funding companies Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan’s SoftBank Group. Employees personal 20% and its founders the rest 20%.
Some main points of the connection between TikTok and ByteDance stay unclear to outsiders.
WHAT CHINESE RULES WORRY WESTERN GOVERNMENTS?
China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law states that “any organization” will have to help or cooperate with state intelligence paintings whilst a separate 2014 Counter-Espionage Law says “relevant organizations … may not refuse” to gather proof for an investigation.
Since ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is a Chinese corporate, it might most likely need to abide by way of those laws if Chinese government requested it to show over knowledge.
Laws and laws are just one facet of the Communist Party’s pervasive keep watch over. There are not any prison limits at the celebration’s powers. The government too can threaten to cancel licenses, habits regulatory or tax investigations and use different consequences to compel compliance by way of Chinese and overseas corporations running in China.
The celebration once in a while conveys orders the use of “window guidance,” or casual conversation in non-public. It has used crackdowns to tighten keep watch over over generation corporations and drive them to align with its targets.
The Chinese govt has additionally sought extra direct keep watch over over corporations by way of getting seats on forums of administrators.
MUST TIKTOK TURN OVER DATA IF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAYS SO, EVEN WITH “PROJECT TEXAS?”
TikTok has promised to offer protection to knowledge on American customers by way of storing it on servers operated by way of an outdoor contractor, Oracle Corp., in what is referred to as “Project Texas.” Chew, the TikTok CEO, mentioned all new US person knowledge is saved within the United States and the corporate must end deleting older US knowledge from non-Oracle servers this yr.
The worry is that ByteDance must surrender knowledge it bought from TikTok if ordered to take action by way of Chinese government, however Chew has mentioned Project Texas will put US knowledge out of China’s achieve.
ByteDance disclosed in December that 4 staff received get right of entry to to knowledge about journalists and other folks attached to them whilst in search of how details about the corporate used to be leaked. Chew instructed lawmakers China-based ByteDance staff would possibly nonetheless have get right of entry to to a few US knowledge however that would possibly not be the case as soon as Project Texas is whole.
In November, TikTok’s head of privateness for Europe mentioned some staff in China had get right of entry to to details about customers in Britain and the European Union.
DOES THE COMMUNIST PARTY HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON BYTEDANCE?
In Thursday’s listening to, lawmakers time and again attempted to pin down Chew on whether or not ByteDance had hyperlinks to China’s communist rulers.
He deflected questions on whether or not group of workers and best executives are Communist Party participants.
“I do know that the founder himself is not a member of the Communist Party, but we don’t know the political affiliation of our employees because that’s not something we ask,” Chew mentioned.
When puzzled whether or not ByteDance used to be successfully managed by way of the Chinese Communist Party, Chew mentioned he disagreed.
After a lawmaker mentioned the Communist Party holds a “golden share” in ByteDance that permits it to keep watch over one ByteDance board seat, Chew mentioned, “That’s not correct.”
In China, so-called golden stocks held by way of authentic funding price range are a technique for Beijing to achieve extra oversight over industry by way of giving them a 1% stake in corporations.
Chew driven again when lawmakers claimed that the Communist Party owns stocks in ByteDance that give it a vote in how the corporate is administered. “The Communist Party doesn’t have voting rights in ByteDance,” Chew mentioned.
ByteDance’s primary Chinese subsidiary is the license-holder for a few of its video and data platforms that simplest serve the China marketplace.
WHAT IS DOUYIN AND WHAT IS TIKTOK’S RELATIONSHIP WITH IT?
Douyin is ByteDance’s short-video platform for the China marketplace. It’s very similar to TikTok, however its content material is specific by way of Chinese censorship laws that restrict subject material deemed subversive or pornographic – some degree emphasised by way of US lawmakers apprehensive about destructive content material seen by way of younger other folks.
The Communist Party’s intensive web filters block maximum customers in China from seeing TikTok. ByteDance has mentioned TikTok has “no affiliation” with Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., the subsidiary that operates Douyin; Toutiaoa information and short-video platform, and different services and products.
HOW DID CHINA REACT TO THE TIKTOK CEO’S WASHINGTON TESTIMONY?
Most of the social media response in China used to be sympathetic to Chew, with reward for the way he treated the adversarial questions lobbed at him.
Comments on Douyin and microblogging platform Weibo have been vital of US lawmakers for asking Chew main or “trap” questions. Many commenters used a Chinese announcing that implies “If you want to accuse someone, there’s always a way.”