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Rep. Rodgers requested Chew whether or not he has common contact with varied executives at Bytedance. He stated he was in common contact with the guardian firm’s CEO.
“All of those people work or are affiliated with the Chinese language Communist Social gathering and are on the highest ranges of management of Bytedance,” Rodgers responded. “An organization the place you beforehand served as CFO and the place you often talk with the CEO.”
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok CEO, is starting his testimony with an emphasis on his Singaporean heritage. He has tried this technique earlier than in a letter to lawmakers when he first took over the corporate. TikTok is run by a Singaporean primarily based in Singapore, he wrote in that letter, and never beholden to the Chinese language authorities.
Chew can also be emphasizing that the corporate’s 150 million customers within the US use the platform for varied functions that features academic movies.
To deal with the lawmakers’ nationwide safety considerations, Chew is speaking about Mission Texas – an effort to maneuver all US knowledge to home servers. He stated the corporate is deleting all consumer knowledge that’s backed as much as servers exterior the US, and that it ought to all be deleted later this yr.
”Belief is about actions we take, we’ve got to earn your belief with selections we make…the potential safety, privateness…considerations are usually not distinctive to us. We consider what’s wanted are clear clear guidelines that tackle all tech firms,” Chew stated.
He ends with this: “There are greater than 150 million customers who love our platform and we all know we’ve got a accountability to guard them which is why I’m making the next commitments to you and all our customers:
1) We are going to maintain security, notably for youngsters as a prime precedence for us. 2) We are going to firewall protected US knowledge from undesirable overseas entry 3) TikTok will stay a spot without cost expression and never be manipulated by any authorities 4) we can be clear and we are going to give entry to third-party unbiased displays to stay accountable for our commitments.”
Up to date at 10.23 EDT
Rating Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) is concentrated extra on the unfold of misinformation on TikTok, and the platform’s impression on teen psychological well being. He’s additionally taking this chance to talk to induce the passage of a invoice that may create a federal privateness regulation that may reign in all of Large Tech’s data-collection practices.
Good morning, the listening to has began.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the Home power and commerce committee, spoke passionately about her considerations with TikTok’s guardian firm ByteDance. The principle thrust of her argument is that TikTok poses a “grave risk” from overseas affect on American life. She claims that China requires firms to permit the federal government to entry its knowledge, by design.
Rodgers tells Chew that he has to not simply reply to Congress but in addition to the American folks.
TikTok CEO to start testimony shortly
Good morning and welcome to our liveblog of immediately’s interrogation of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew by US Congress members.
The panel, convened by the Home committee on power and commerce, will start at 10am ET and is titled TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Knowledge Privateness And Defend Kids From On-line Harms.
This marks the primary look from a TikTok chief govt earlier than US lawmakers. It comes because the political storm surrounding the China-owned social media platform intensifies, with the Biden administration threatening to ban the app completely within the US.
TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese language firm ByteDance, has lengthy confronted criticisms over the info it holds on US customers – knowledge that lawmakers worry might fall into the palms of the Chinese language authorities.
Based on ready statements shared upfront, Chew is anticipated to insist that TikTok has by no means, and would by no means, share US consumer knowledge with the Chinese language authorities, nor let the state manipulate what content material is proven on the platform.
“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance isn’t an agent of China or another nation,” Chew stated.
Keep tuned for extra updates because the listening to will get beneath means.
