Tik Tok CEO To Testify On Capitol Hill

TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew plans to tell Congress his app does more to protect young users than rival social media and that Beijing has no authority over its data, invoking familiar arguments to head off a US ban or forced sale.

The app owned by Chinese internet leader ByteDance Ltd. expends a lot of effort protecting its mostly youthful contingent, Chew plans to say when he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday, according to prepared comments reviewed by Bloomberg News. And the executive, who took the helm of the viral video phenom just two years ago, reiterated that it would never share information demanded by the Communist Party, which has no sway over ByteDance’s US- and Singapore-based subsidiary.

Sou Chew

Chew’s comments are meant to head off a barrage of questions expected from Representatives on the committee about teen safety and the impact on mental health of the endless, personalized feed of videos the app serves up. That’s not the only contentious topic Chew expects to address. During his first testimony before Congress, Chew will also be queried on data protection policies and whether the app’s ownership by a Chinese tech company poses a national security risk.

“TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, but has evolved into a global enterprise since its founding,” Chew will say during opening remarks. “Under this structure, there is no way for the Chinese government to access it or compel access to it.”

TikTok is fighting to convince lawmakers that the company should be allowed to continue operating in the US.