TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew has stated in written testimony that the app has never shared US user data with the Chinese government and would never comply with any such request. Chew has also asserted that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is not owned or controlled by any government or state entity. In response to concerns about data security, TikTok has spent more than $1.5 billion on “Project Texas,” a data security effort to ensure US data is protected by US law and under the control of a US-led security team. The company is already deleting US user data from data centers in Virginia and Singapore, and new US data is being routed to the Oracle Cloud. TikTok expects the process to be completed later this year. The app does not collect precise or approximate GPS information from US users, and TikTok’s average user is an adult well past college age. Finally, Chew emphasized that 60% of ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors, with about 20% owned by the company’s founders and the remaining 20% by its employees, including thousands of Americans.
TikTok CEO: US Data is Secure
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before US lawmakers to address concerns about the app’s security. The Chinese-owned app has more than 150 million American users, prompting fears that US user data could be passed on to the Chinese government. However, Chew’s written testimony, posted by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, asserts that TikTok has never shared nor received a request to share US user data with the Chinese government.
Chew is clear that TikTok would never comply with any such request. Moreover, he emphasizes that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is not controlled by any government or state entity. In addition, Chew categorically states that “ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”
Critics have called for the app to be banned in the US, but Chew’s testimony offers an alternative solution. TikTok has spent more than $1.5 billion on data security efforts, known as “Project Texas.” Chew confirms that, once this process is complete, all protected US data will be under the protection of US law and under the control of the US-led security team. Under this structure, the Chinese government will have no access to the data or any means to compel access.
Chew notes that the company has already begun deleting US user protected data in data centers in Virginia and Singapore, and is routing new US data to the Oracle Cloud. The process is expected to be completed later this year.
Chew’s testimony stresses that 60% of ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors, including Blackrock, General Atlantic, and Sequoia, with about 20% owned by the company’s founders, and the remaining 20% by its employees, “including thousands of Americans.”
Finally, Chew states that TikTok does not collect precise or approximate GPS information from US users, and that the app’s average user is an adult well past college age. TikTok has more than 150 million monthly users in the US, with their voice accounting for 25% of the total views around the world.
In conclusion, TikTok’s CEO’s testimony offers reassurance that US user data is secure, and outlines the measures taken by the company to ensure that data protection standards meet the highest possible standards.
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