ok CEO confronts congress over security concerns //
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, testified before Congress in an intense and difficult-to-watch hearing. This hearing will decide the future of the social network app.
The CEO was confronted with tough questions by out-of-touch congresspeople regarding safety, privacy, and security concerns, just as US user adoption surpassed 150 million. Here’s what happened.
“Mr. “Mr. “TikTok repeatedly chose a path of more control, surveillance and manipulation.”
Security and privacy. We must not forget that there is no evidence that TikTok shared U.S. user information with the Chinese government. However, policymakers are concerned that the Chinese government might force the company to share such data. Chew claims that legacy U.S. data stored in Virginia and Singapore is being deleted. “We expect this to be completed by the end of the year. All U.S. protected data will then be subject to U.S. law once that’s done.”
Chew claims that the company has set up “what amounts to an firewall that protects U.S. user information from unauthorized foreign entry.” American data is stored on American soil by American companies overseen by American personnel.
Chew made four commitments to the U.S.
-
Safety for young users
- Firewall protection for U.S. user information
- The app will be free to express your opinions and ‘will never be manipulated’ by any government
- Transparency
Surveillance concerns. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R–WA) asked about surveillance. “Can you tell me with 100% certainty that neither ByteDance or TikTok employees could target…Americans using…surveillance techniques?” Chew stated, “I disagree with this characterization of surveillance.”
Although Chew doesn’t deny that employees of TikTok China’s parent company have access to sensitive user data from Americans, every social media platform has it. Chew claims that TikTok does not collect more data than any other social network.
Rep. Richard Hudson (R.NC) questions TikTok CEO Shouchew: “Does TikTok have access to the home WiFi network?”
After a five minute rant by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-FL (Rep. Chew) asked Chew to respond to any questions or comments. However, she was told “No. We are going to move on.
Save our children. Rep. Rep.
Rep. Castor (R.FL) blamed the CEO because people’s suicides were caused by their algorithms. She reminded us all that Instagram and Facebook sat in the exact same seats. She told Congress they were aware of the problems and did nothing to stop kids from self-harming.
Here’s what Twitter thought. The overwhelming majority of those watching the hearing and following it live on Twitter are not surprised that Chew is not being allowed to respond to questions or make accusations.
Congress has not even given the TikTok CEO an opportunity to speak. They point out that he is not being honest and cut him off. They have an agenda, and are just holding the hearing to make it formal and pretend they tried.
— hunting
(@huntys_pov)
March 23, 2023
Go deeper. You have to be patient.
Why we care. The future of TikTok and their advertising strategy could be affected by a ban on the social media app. TikTok could be banned or subject to severe restrictions. This could have a significant impact on the app’s userbase and make it less appealing for advertisers.
If the hearing uncovers serious privacy or security concerns about the app, it can lead to loss of trust between advertisers and users. If the hearing is successful and TikTok can continue to operate with minimal restrictions, advertisers could have a valuable opportunity to reach a large, engaged audience on the platform.
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