TikTok ban latest: CEO Shou Chew issues stark warning on social media apps at US Congress hearing

Rep. Neal Dunn, a Florida Republican, asked CEO Shou Chew if TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, had ever spied on American citizens at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.

“No,” Mr. Chew said, sparking a tense exchange with the congressman. Mr Chew concluded by saying that the legislature did not give him an opportunity to respond to his many questions.

You can watch Chair Rodgers’ clip describing TikTok as a weapon here:

Chairman Rodgers brings up Shou Chew’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party, having worked as the chief financial officer of the Chinese version of TikTok before assuming his current role.

Both companies are owned by ByteDance, with senior figures within the parent company having ties to the Chinese state.

“TikTok is a weapon,” says Chair Rodgers.

The Biden administration is currently attempting to pass the RESTRICT ACT, which attorneys say would allow the US government to bypass language protections embedded in existing law.

But how would a nationwide TikTok ban actually be implemented?

US officials are yet to provide specifics on how a total ban would actually be implemented in the US, but it would likely result in Apple and Google removing it from their app stores and ISPs blocking access to the site.

There are always ways to circumvent such bans – most likely any VPN would be able to circumvent all restrictions – but when the same thing happened in India, most users simply switched to copycat short-form content set up by YouTube and Facebook.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew doesn’t have long to wait before he appears before Congress at 10 a.m. local time (2 p.m. GMT) today.

He’s already posted a TikTok asking US users what they want their elected representatives to know about “What You Love” on TikTok.

“I will testify before Congress this week to share everything we are doing to keep Americans who use the app safe and to fulfill our mission to inspire creativity and bring joy,” he said in the post , which was published on the main TikTok account.

His own account has been remarkably quiet considering he’s the app’s boss, having posted fewer than a few dozen times in his story. His low profile matches his public persona, which he has kept extremely private compared to the heads of other tech giants.

There are only six sentences on his Wikipedia page, but if you want to learn more you can read this:

TikTok was the most downloaded app in the world last year, beating its closest competitor by more than 100 million downloads.

This is despite a total ban on TikTok imposed in India in 2020, where nearly 200 million people used the app. Other countries have also imposed bans and partial bans, including Europe and the US, as shown in this map:

You can see all the charts and read the full story of TikTok’s controversial rise to the top here:

Shou Chew claims TikTok goes further than any other major social media app when it comes to protecting its users’ privacy.

When questioned by Chair Rodgers, the TikTok CEO failed to confirm “100 percent” that the Chinese Communist Party cannot influence parts of the app.

You can read the whole story from The IndependentAndrew Griffin is here:

While the US mulls a nationwide TikTok ban, the UK has announced the app will be blocked for “all parliamentary devices and the broader parliamentary network”, citing security concerns.

“Cybersecurity is a top priority for Parliament, but we do not comment on specific details of our cyber or physical security controls, policies or incidents,” a spokesman said.

“Following the government’s decision to ban TikTok from government devices, the commissions of both the House of Commons and the Lords have ruled that TikTok will be banned from all parliamentary devices and the broader parliamentary network.”

You can read Andrew Griffin’s full story here:

The US government is reportedly demanding that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance sell its US business to avoid a total ban.

If not, a bill the Biden administration is currently trying to pass would allow the Secretary of Commerce to bar foreign companies from doing business in the US if they are deemed a threat to national security.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew will say during his testimony on Thursday.

Its pre-filed written statement claims, “TikTok has never disclosed US user data to the Chinese government or received a request for disclosure. Also, TikTok would not honor such a request if one was ever made.”

He will also defend TikTok’s handling of US user data by detailing the $1.5 billion Project Texas. The process involves hosting and routing all US data through the Oracle Cloud.