james 
TikTok CEO labels India's ban 'hypothetical' while facing US Congress
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified earlier than US Congress amid developing protection issues and cappotential Chinese authorities impact over the enterprise. Chew confronted opposed thinking from the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he verbally danced to make the case that the social media massive is taking “actual action” to deal with countrywide protection issues from the US.
During a four-hour lengthy listening to, Chew again and again confused that the TikTok app, that is owned via way of means of the Chinese era enterprise Bytedance, has lengthy maintained that it does now no longer percentage facts with the Chinese authorities and it doesn`t pose a danger to its one hundred fifty million customers withinside the U.S. nor percentage their facts with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
US Lawmaker Debbie Lesko all through her line of thinking quoted India and different nations which have currently banned TikTok in a few form. “This (TikTok) is a device that is in the end beneathneath the manipulate of the Chinese authorities and screams out with countrywide protection issues Mr Chew, how can all of those nations and our FBI director be wrong? requested Lesko.
“I assume a variety of dangers mentioned are hypothetical and theoretical dangers. I actually have now no longer visible any evidence,” Chew responded. The Congresswoman once more reiterated and confused at the India ban. “India banned TikTok in 2020. In March 21, a Forbes article discovered how facts of Indian residents who used TikTok remained reachable to personnel on the enterprise and its Beijing-primarily based totally parent. A present day TikTok worker advised Forbes that almost absolutely everyone with primary get admission to to enterprise equipment can without problems appearance up the nearest touch and different touchy data approximately any consumer,” Lesko knowledgeable her colleagues.
“This is a current article; I actually have requested my group to inspect it. We have rigorous facts get admission to protocols. There isn’t anyt any such factor that all people can get admission to the equipment. So, I disagree with a variety of the conclusions,” Chew responded.
India imposed a national ban on TikTok and dozens of different Chinese apps, consisting of the messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privateness and protection issues. The ban got here rapidly after a conflict among Indian and Chinese troops at LAC that killed 20 Indian infantrymen and injured dozens. The organizations had been given a danger to reply to questions about privateness and protection necessities however the ban became made everlasting in January 2021.
“You rattling nicely understand which you can not shield the facts and protection of this committee or the one hundred fifty million customers of your app due to the fact it’s far an extension of the CCP,” Lawmaker Kat Cammack of Florida advised Chew after gambling a threatening video that became nevertheless at the platform extra than a month after it have been posted, regardless of network suggestions barring violence or threats.
Asked all through a listening to in Congress via way of means of Republican consultant Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, TikTok’s leader became not able to “a hundred in keeping with cent guarantee” that Beijing became now no longer influencing components of the app. Chew stated the enterprise is devoted to firewalling U.S. consumer facts from “all undesirable overseas get admission to” and could maintain content “unfastened from any manipulation from any authorities.”
Another lawmaker from New Jersey stated he wasn’t satisfied that TikTok’s protection plans could work. “I nevertheless accept as true with that the Beijing communist authorities will nevertheless manipulate and feature the capacity to persuade what you do,” he stated, pushing returned on what he stated became TikTok’s try and painting itself as “a benign enterprise it’s simply acting a public service … I do not purchase it.”
Hours earlier than the listening to, China again and again stated it would not oppose any pressured sale of TikTok, with its Commerce Ministry pronouncing that any sale could contain the export of Chinese era and need to be accredited via way of means of the Chinese authorities. TikTok is already banned on federal authorities devices, consisting of navy devices, and a developing wide variety of states withinside the US are banning it on country authorities devices.
