TikTok CEO appeals to U.S. users before testifying in the House

Before what is likely to be a heated debate in the United States, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew made a direct appeal to the app's users. This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a video on the platform.

‍

Filmed in Washington, D.C., Chew highlighted the dependence of TikTok on a huge number of users, small and medium-sized enterprises, and its own U.S. staff. The letter could be a sneak peek at his Thursday legislative testimony. In it, he'll be grilled on the app's Chinese parent company ByteDance and the Chinese government's access to user data from Americans.

‍

In order to prevent American data from falling into the hands of a foreign opponent via its app, TikTok claims to have labored to develop a risk mitigation plan. According to the firm, data from American users is already kept on foreign soil.

‍

Although TikTok is owned by a Chinese firm, many lawmakers and intelligence officials still don't appear to believe that information can be kept secure. This week, TikTok said that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which is investigating the app's hazards, is pressuring ByteDance to sell its stock or risk being banned.

‍

In the video, Chew revealed that TikTok has over 150 million monthly active users, or MAUs, in the United States. This is a significant increase from August 2020, when it originally stated that it had over 100 million MAUs in the nation. This figure includes 5 million companies that use the app to connect with their consumers, the majority of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. He added that TikTok employs 7,000 people in the United States.

‍

Chew said, referring to lawmakers' threats to ban TikTok, "This comes at a key moment for us. There are 150 million of you, and this could prevent you from using TikTok.”

‍

Chew then directly urged people to explain in the comments why they adore TikTok and what they want their elected officials to know about it.