TikTok CEO Address To Congress Will Tout App’s Safety Features For Minors And Claim Ban Will Hurt U.S. Economy

Topline

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to highlight the app’s safety measures to protect minor users, its use by small and medium businesses, and its efforts to firewall U.S. user data from foreign access during his address to the U.S. Congress on Thursday, according to the text of his prepared remarks released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose members are expected to grill Chew on a multitude of issues, including concerns about its Chinese parent and its impact on teenagers.

TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew is interviewed at offices the company uses on Tuesday in Washington, DC.

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Key Facts

Chew’s speech will note that more than 150 million people in the U.S. use TikTok, and highlight the exposure the app has brought to “American musicians, artists, chefs, and many more.”

The address will outline various efforts TikTok has undertaken to protect minor users—especially teenagers—noting that TikTok has “been a leader on these issues” and “other platforms have adopted some of the protections that we have pioneered.”

Chew will also highlight TikTok’s plan to safeguard “U.S. user data and U.S. national security interests” as part of the company’s Project Texas initiative in partnership with Oracle.

The speech notes that the company has already spent over $1.5 billion to build a firewall between U.S. user data and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, which includes storing American user data on Oracle’s servers, while also allowing the American tech company and independent observers to audit its data handling, algorithm and content moderation practices.

Chew’s testimony will warn against banning the app, claiming that such a move would hurt small businesses, damage the U.S. economy, reduce competition in the social media space, and silence “the voices of over 150 million Americans.”

The speech will also address what Chew says are “misconceptions” about TikTok, and point out that TikTok has never shared or even received a request to share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, and the company would not “honor such a request if one were ever made.”

Crucial Quote

On the issue of ByteDance’s links to the Chinese government, Chew’s speech notes: “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country…you don’t simply have to take my word on that…our approach has been to work transparently and cooperatively with the U.S. government and Oracle to design robust solutions to address concerns about TikTok’s heritage.”

News Peg

Ahead of his speech before Congress, Chew shared a video on TikTok, in an effort to directly appeal to the app’s American users and warn them about the potential ban. Chew’s video outlines some of the points already present in his prepared remarks to Congress, including the fact that 150 million Amercians, or “almost half of the U.S.” population, use the app. Chew adds that this number includes 5 million U.S. businesses, the majority of which he claims are “small and medium businesses.” Chew then warns that “some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok…this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you.” The TikTok CEO then urges the platform’s users to share comments under the video about “what you want your elected representatives to know about what you love about TikTok.”

Surprising Fact

In a rare occurrence, TikTok gained a supporter in Congress on Tuesday in the form of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) who defended the platform in an interview with NBC News. Bowman noted that the app is a platform for creators to “share their ideas, their inspirations, their thoughts, their voices with the rest of the country and the rest of the world,” and asked “Why do we need to ban a platform that 150 million Americans now use?” Bowman dismissed concerns about TikTok’s Chinese ownership, calling it “political fear mongering” and “xenophobia around China.”

Big Number

25%. That according to Chew’s speech is the percentage of TikTok’s total views that videos from U.S. users generate, despite Americans making up only 10% of the platform’s total global user base.