TikTok CEO labels India’s ban ‘hypothetical’ while facing US Congress

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before US Congress amid growing security concerns and potential Chinese government influence over the company.

India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privacy and security concerns.

US lawmakers on Thursday pressed Shou Zi Chew over data security and harmful content, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurance that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned due to its Chinese connections.

Chew faced hostile questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he verbally danced to make the case that the social media giant is taking “real action” to address national security concerns from the US.

During a four-hour long hearing, Chew time and again stressed that the TikTok app, which is owned by the Chinese technology company Bytedance, has long maintained that it does not share data with the Chinese government and it doesn’t pose a risk to its 150 million users in the U.S. nor share their data with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

US Lawmaker Debbie Lesko during her line of questioning quoted India and other countries that have recently banned TikTok in some form.
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