World News | TikTok CEO tells Congress app is safe, urges opposition to ban

WASHINGTON, March 22 (AP) — TikTok’s chief executive plans to tell Congress that the video-sharing app is committed to user safety, data protection and security, and keeping the platform safe from Chinese government influence.

Chewing Hands will answer questions from U.S. lawmakers on Thursday about the social media platform’s impact on its youthful user base and the possible national security risks posed by popular apps founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.

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Sticking to a familiar script, Chew urged officials not to impose a blanket ban on TikTok or sell the company to new owners.

TikTok’s efforts to keep its users’ data safe, including a $1.5 billion project to store information on Oracle servers in the US and allow outside monitors to inspect its source code, “outpace” any of its competition What opponents are doing, according to Chew’s prepared remarks ahead of his appearance before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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“No other social media company or entertainment platform like TikTok offers this level of access and transparency,” he said.

Chew dismissed concerns that TikTok could become a tool of China’s ruling Communist Party because its parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing.

He said ByteDance had grown into a private “global enterprise” 60% owned by large institutional investors, 20% by the Chinese entrepreneurs who founded it and the rest by employees.

“Let me state clearly: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Zhou said.

TikTok has come under fire in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with a growing number of governments banning TikTok on devices used for business, amid concerns it poses risks to cybersecurity and data privacy, or could be used to promote pro-Beijing sentiment Speech and misinformation. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)