TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify earlier than the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday. In his testimony, the leader govt will inform lawmakers that the Chinese-owned quick video app with extra than one hundred fifty million American customers has by no means, and could by no means, percentage U.S. person facts with the Chinese authorities.
Chew has submitted a written testimony this is published on Tuesday through the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. In the testimony, he says “TikTok has by no means shared, or obtained a request to percentage, U.S. person facts with the Chinese authorities. Nor could TikTok honor this type of request if one had been ever made.”
He in addition provides that TikTok`s figure organization ByteDance isn’t owned or managed through any authorities or country entity. “Let me country this unequivocally: ByteDance isn’t an agent of China or another country,” Chew will say to the committee.
TikTok’s critics worry that the app’s US person facts can be surpassed directly to China’s authorities. There were numerous calls to prohibit the app through U.S. lawmakers.
Last week, TikTok stated the Biden management demanded that its Chinese proprietors divest their stake withinside the app or it may face a U.S. ban.
“Bans are simplest suitable while there aren’t anyt any alternatives. But we do have an alternative,” Chew’s testimony stated.
TikTok claims it has spent extra than $1.five billion on what it calls rigorous facts protection efforts below the name “Project Texas” and has attempted to persuade lawmakers and the Biden management to assist the plan.
The Committee on Foreign Investment withinside the United States (CFIUS), a effective country wide protection body, had unanimously advocated in 2020 that ByteDance divest TikTok.
Under stress from then-President Trump, ByteDance in overdue 2020 unsuccessfully sought to finalize a cope with Walmart and Oracle to shift TikTok’s U.S. belongings into a brand new entity and Trump then misplaced courtroom docket battles looking for to prohibit TikTok.
“Oracle has already started examining TikTok`s supply code and could have exceptional get admission to to the associated algorithms and facts models,” Chew’s testimony stated.
Chew stated while the manner is complete “all blanketed U.S. facts may be below the safety of U.S. regulation and below the manipulate of the U.S.-led protection team. Under this structure, there’s no manner for the Chinese authorities to get admission to it or compel get admission to to it.”
The organization stated it had began out this month to delete U.S. person blanketed facts in facts facilities in Virginia and Singapore after it began out routing new U.S. facts to the Oracle Cloud closing year. Chew’s testimony stated it expects this manner to be finished later this year.
Chew’s testimony says 60% of ByteDance is owned through worldwide institutional traders which include Blackrock, General Atlantic, and Sequoia, approximately 20% through the organization`s founders, and approximately 20% owned through its employees “which include hundreds of Americans.”
TikTok stated on Monday that extra than one hundred fifty million humans withinside the United States use TikTok on a month-to-month foundation after announcing in 2020 that one hundred million Americans used the app. Chew’s testimony says the common person nowadays is an grownup nicely beyond university age.
“While customers withinside the United States constitute 10% of our worldwide community, their voice debts for 25% of the full perspectives across the world,” Chew’s testimony says.
Chew says present day variations of the app do now no longer acquire unique or approximate GPS facts from U.S. customers.