Singaporean TikTok CEO to face tough questions amid calls for US ban

WASHINGTON – TikToks chief executive Chew Shou Zi will face tough questions on Thursday from lawmakers who are convinced the Chinese-owned short-video app should be barred for being a potential national security threat to the United States.

Mr Chews testimony before Congress will also cap a week of actions by the Chinese company aimed at convincing Americans and their lawmakers that the app creates economic value and supports free speech.

TikTok has more than 150 million Americans users. Remote video URL It has faced sharp accusations that its US user data would be shared with the Chinese government and that it fails to adequately protect children from harm.

TikTok has said it has spent more than US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) on what it calls rigorous data security efforts under the name Project Texas.

It currently has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and is contracted with Oracle to store TikToks US user data.

It also says it rigorously screens content that could harm children.

The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing will be chaired by Ms Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican who says she is unconvinced by TikToks security commitments.

Its clear that TikTok will say anything to… ensure that it is not banned in the United States, she told Fox News. Remote video URL Mr Chew, a Singaporean, told reporters ahead of the hearing that there are many misconceptions about our company, and Im very proud to come here and represent them and normal users here in this country.

Some political experts say a TikTok ban could be damaging to Democrats who have used the platform to reach younger voters.

Three House Democrats rallied with TikTok creators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in opposition to a ban.

Why the hysteria and the panic and the targeting of TikTok? asked Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, at a news conference. Lets do the right thing here comprehensive social media reform as it relates to privacy and security.

Still, far more US lawmakers want TikTok banned.

TikTok last week said President Joe Bidens administration demanded that its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential ban. More On This Topic From Facebook intern to TikTok CEO: Who is S'porean Chew Shou Zi? How TikTok became a US-China national security issue Chinas Ministry of Commerce at a briefing on Thursday said that forcing the sale of TikTok will seriously damage the confidence of investors from all over the world, including China, to invest in the US. If the news is true, China will firmly oppose it.

Mr Jameel Jaffer, executive director of Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said: Restricting access to a speech platform that is used by millions of Americans every day would set a dangerous precedent for regulating our digital public sphere more broadly.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner on Wednesday said two additional senators backed his bipartisan legislation with Republican John Thune to give the Biden administration new powers to ban TikTok raising the total to 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans. REUTERS More On This Topic TikTok users protest against proposals for US ban at Congress TikTok caught in US-China battle over its powerful algorithm