As the fate of TikTok on the American soil hangs in the balance, the CEO of the social media app's parent company appeared in a short video before millions of active TikTok users in the United States, talking about the repercussions once the U.S. government finalizes the ban on the video-sharing platform.
ByteDance chief Shou Zi Chou is set to testify in the Congressional hearing on Thursday, which will tackle the issues surrounding TikTok, including the allegations that it is a threat to national security.
TikTok Owner Appeals for Support of American TikTok Users
On ByteDance's official TikTok account, Choi posted a short video that contains all the points that he will raise in the Capitol Hill hearing. As reported by NBC News, The House Energy and Commerce Committee will convene the said hearing, where Chou will give his testimony and possibly convince the U.S. lawmakers to abandon the idea of banning the social media app in the United States.
Prior to his appearance in Congress, Chou tried to call for support from the public through his latest TikTok video, pointing out that the looming ban will affect 150 million American users, or "almost half of the U.S.," in Chou's words. Out of more than a hundred million active TikTok users in the country, the ByteDance CEO emphasized that around 5 million of this number are businesses, where the majority are "small and medium businesses."
Chou went on to report that 7,000 American employees are working for TikTok. According to The Verge, this number is a big jump from a measly 1,400 in 2020, as the company has been aiming to employ 10,000 or more workers from the U.S. since that year.
After citing TikTok's current U.S. stats in the video, Chou noted that "some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok" and how the recent turn of events at the Capitol Hill could potentially "take TikTok away" from 150 million Americans that made TikTok a part of their daily lives.
Towards the end of the video, Chou asked those who are watching to leave their comments and let their elected U.S. legislators know what they "love about TikTok."
U.S. Government Takes Measures to Address Security Breach Issue, Which Could Lead to TikTok Ban
Lawmakers have expressed their concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership, knowing that the social media app has access to the private data of millions of users in the United States. These data can easily be passed on to the Chinese government, which is why legislators fear that TikTok is being used to spy on Washington D.C.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Chou claimed that the Biden administration has taken steps to prevent the possible breach of national security through the app. According to Choi, the U.S. government wants to address the security issue by cutting the social media platform's ties with China. If the Beijing-based ByteDance will not divest its stake in the app, TikTok would risk getting banned in the country.
From TikTok's standpoint, the divesting of Chinese stakeholders will not solve the issue of national security. Instead, a US-based company should be hired to store the data of American TikTok users.
