TikTok CEO testifies to US Congress

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who testified in the US Congress, did not satisfy the lawmakers with his answers on a number of issues, including his relationship with China-based technology company ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the transfer of American data to China, the platform's negative impact on young people's mental health in particular, the blocking of harmful content, and political content. Chew, the CEO of Chinese social media platform TikTok, answered questions from lawmakers at a hearing held by the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. The harsh stance of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers towards Chew drew attention during the session, which lasted approximately 5.5 hours. Although Chew wanted to give long answers to the lawmakers' questions, the fact that the lawmakers wanted clear answers as "yes" or "no" occasionally increased the tension during the session. Chew’s answers on a number of issues, such as China-based technology company ByteDance and the company’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the transfer of American data to China, the platform’s negative impact on the mental health of young people and children, the blocking of harmful content, and political content, did not satisfy the lawmakers. - “TikTok should be banned” Committee Chair Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers argued that TikTok collects Americans’ data and spies on society, and that the CCP uses this data as a tool to manipulate the US. Rodgers said, “TikTok has repeatedly chosen the path of more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation. Your platform should be banned.” Claiming that many of TikTok’s employees have ties to China, Rodgers said, “(TikTok) even censored an American teenager who exposed the CCP’s genocide and torture of Uyghur Muslims.” Democratic Representative Frank Polland also emphasized that big tech companies like TikTok earn billions of dollars in revenue from the data they obtain, but that they threaten the security, privacy, and health of the American people. - "TikTok respects freedom of expression" Chew, on the other hand, claimed that TikTok is a platform that respects freedom of expression and that such content is not removed, saying, "If you use our app, you will see that many users around the world produce content on this subject." Stating that he is Singaporean and that the company's headquarters are not in China, but in Singapore and Los Angeles, Chew noted that there are more than 150 million TikTok users in the US and 1 billion worldwide. During the session, lawmakers pointed out that TikTok's algorithms aim to "create addiction" and cause emotional difficulties especially for young people, and asked Chew questions on this subject. Chew argued that they were working to address concerns about TikTok's algorithm and content control, and that violent content and problems with algorithms were a general problem for social media platforms. Claiming that they were contributing to the production of useful content, especially for the education of young people, Chew claimed that harmful content was removed as soon as it was detected. In response to Chew's statements, US lawmakers showed images of some content currently circulating on TikTok and accused the company of not taking the steps it should have in this regard. Chew stated that they would especially prioritize the safety of young people and protect Americans' data with a firewall against unwanted foreign access. Stating that they would also take steps regarding freedom of expression and that the content would not be manipulated by any government, Chew stated that they would be transparent in this regard and would grant access to third-party independent observers. - CCP-TikTok relationship questioned Lawmakers claimed that ByteDance has a relationship with the CCP and asked Chew whether they removed content from TikTok at the CCP’s request. Chew said, “We do not develop or remove content at the request of the Chinese government.” Chew said he had no meetings with Chinese government officials and responded to lawmakers’ questions about ByteDance’s top executives’ connections to the CCP by saying, “I cannot confirm this statement because I do not know the political affiliation of the people I met with (regarding work). Noting that the Chinese government has also seen no evidence of Americans accessing data, Chew emphasized that the CCP did not ask them to do such a thing. In response to lawmakers’ questions about Americans’ location information being stored, Chew said that they do not collect location information. Chew, on the other hand, stated that they, like many American companies, work with Chinese engineers and said that they plan to store all American data within the borders of the United States by an American company and under the supervision of American personnel as part of the "Texas Project". However, the lawmakers defended the view that this would not eliminate national security threats. Confirming that they had shared data with companies they were affiliated with in the past, Chew reported that such access would be eliminated after the Texas Project. Chew stated that they also spent $1.5 billion on the project in question. Rejecting the lawmakers' claims that TikTok gave Americans' data to China, Chew said that Americans' data was stored on Oracle servers and monitored by American personnel. When a lawmaker asked, "Did ByteDance spy on American citizens?" regarding ByteDance's access to TikTok data, Chew replied, "I don't think it's right to describe it as 'surveillance.'" - The CEO reminded the records of American companies The deputies also asked Chew about his salary and whether he had any additional income. Chew did not want to give clear information about his salary, but noted that his main source of income was his role at TikTok and the additional payments he received from ByteDance, and that he did not earn income from anywhere else. When the deputies asked, "Are you afraid of the communist government of China?", Chew answered, "No." Regarding the FBI Director's view that TikTok was controlled by the Chinese government, Chew said, "I think a lot of the risks point to hypothetical and theoretical risks. I haven't seen any evidence on this issue. I look forward to discussions where we can talk about the evidence." On the other hand, Chew stated that he also thought steps should be taken regarding privacy, and suggested that American companies do not have a good history in this regard, and gave the example of "Cambridge Analytica", which was accused of using data collected without permission from the accounts of millions of Facebook users. - CEO: "Government devices should not have social media apps" Chew responded to a member of parliament’s question about the removal of the TikTok app from government devices by saying, "To be honest, I think government devices should not have any social media apps, but this should not be targeted at us." On the other hand, when an MP asked, "Why don’t you let your 8-year-old child use TikTok?" Chew responded by saying, "My kids live in Singapore. There is no 'under 13 experience' app in Singapore." Chew claimed that the content on TikTok is "fun and informative," and implied that some of the problems are connected to domestic problems in the US. When asked by MPs about drug trafficking on TikTok, Chew argued that his country, Singapore, has very strict drug bans and that there is almost no illegal drug content on TikTok.