The platform’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, appeared before the U.S. Senate over concerns that the app could be used for Chinese espionage.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew warned United States (US) congressmen that imposing a national ban on the Chinese platform would be detrimental to the US economy and freedom of speech.
“It’s an app where people can be creative. There are about five million U.S. businesses, mostly small, that use it to find customers and drive their growth,” he told the House Energy and Commerce committee, adding that in that nation alone the platform has 150 million users.
Last February, Congressional Management vetoed the download and use of TikTok on all government mobile devices. Subsequently, between January and March, several bills were introduced seeking to ban the app throughout the United States because of the ‘security threat’ of ‘enemy’ countries such as China or Iran, which could use it to obtain compromising data on citizens.
The U.S. measure was opposed by several of its partners, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, which argued deficiencies in the security of the service.
Does Tiktok provide information to the Chinese government?
In this regard, Chew recalled that he is originally from Singapore where, he said, TikTok’s networks are located and that in the U.S. territory it is an American team based in Los Angeles that manages the operations. He also pointed out that the social network is not available in mainland China.
However, he accepted that the fact that its parent company, ByteDance, has Chinese founders has raised suspicions about whether its platform could become a tool of that country’s Communist Party for spying in the West.
“ByteDance is not under the ownership or control of the Chinese government. It is a private company. I have no evidence that the Chinese Executive has access to the data. They have never asked us for it,” said the CEO.
In his attempt to dispel doubts, he wanted to make it clear that his company is subject to U.S. laws, where its users’ data would be hosted and stored, specifically at Oracle, being U.S. Data Security, the only one that can access the information, he explained.
However, the legislators’ position was clear. They did not trust a company like TikTok to ’embrace’ U.S. values.
Who is the Mysterious CEO of TikTok?
Shou Zi Chew went from Facebook intern to CEO of the platform TikTok . The unknown Singaporean is the one who stood up to the U.S. Congress, which is threatening to veto the app for good.
Chew, 40, faces maximum scrutiny after going almost unnoticed since he was appointed CEO of the successful video platform in May 2021, with Vanessa Pappas, the chief operating officer, having been until now the most visible face of TikTok.
Born and educated in Singapore, a country that is also a bridge between the West and the East – it is known as the Asian “Switzerland” – Chew is fluent in English and Mandarin. According to The Straits Times on Thursday, March 23, the CEO studied at an elite school in the Asian city of Hwa Chong and, after completing his compulsory military service, he finished his studies at University College London (UCL) and then went on to Harvard Business School.
His jobs have been mostly related to the technology industry in Asia and to a lesser extent to the West, such as Facebook, where he was an intern, or Goldman Sachs, where he was a banker and investor. In 2015, he joined Xiaomi as a director and in March 2021 he joined ByteDance as its first CEO.