{"id":15250,"date":"2023-03-23T16:45:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T16:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/tiktoks-us-future-at-stake-in-congress-showdown"},"modified":"2023-03-23T17:04:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T17:04:12","slug":"tiktoks-us-future-at-stake-in-congress-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/tiktoks-us-future-at-stake-in-congress-showdown","title":{"rendered":"TikTok’s US future at stake in Congress showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eritrea. <\/strong><\/span>On Thursday, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, will be opening a lion’s mouth and placing his own head into it.<\/p>\n

He’s giving testimony in the US Congress for the first time, a scary thing to do.<\/p>\n

And at stake is the future of the phenomenally popular video-sharing app in the US.<\/p>\n

“I think that there is a real risk that if this hearing doesn’t go well… that could have a massive impact on the future of TikTok,” said Chris Stokel-Walker, author of TikTok Boom.<\/p>\n

Mr Chew is likely to face a barrage of questions on TikTok’s relationship with China, what data it collects, and what it does with it.<\/p>\n

He’ll also be quizzed on why several journalists were spied on by ByteDance employees – something TikTok has already admitted.<\/p>\n

Mr Chew will say user data is safe – away from the reach of the Chinese government.<\/p>\n

He knows politicians from all sides want to see the platform either sold – or outright banned in the US.<\/p>\n

“He’s going into the lion’s den,” said Mr Stokel-Walker.<\/p>\n

Mr Chew is going to need to give the performance of a lifetime. And already, close observers have seen a change of tactic from the Singaporean.<\/p>\n

TikTok’s boss, who has had a range of senior positions in the world of finance, generally sports a suit jacket and tie.<\/p>\n

But on Tuesday, he posted a TikTok with a very different look.<\/p>\n

Instead of a suit, he was wearing a white T-shirt and hoodie – the uniform of the nonchalant tech founder.<\/p>\n

The 40-year-old was suddenly speaking like a teenager too – talking of being “super excited”.<\/p>\n

“I think he’s trying to give off a sort of the casual tech bro,” said Caitlin Chin from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank.<\/p>\n

“He’s actually been starting to gain a bit more of a public profile, especially leading up to this hearing.”<\/p>\n

The Singaporean has generally kept a low profile since taking over at TikTok in 2021.<\/p>\n

However, that approach appears to have changed. TikTok is fighting for its life, and Mr Chew knows it.<\/p>\n

The big problem TikTok has in the US and Europe is that it is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance.<\/p>\n

And in China, there are specific laws that require companies to hand over information to the Chinese Communist Party if requested.<\/p>\n

TikTok holds reams of data about its users, including location information and biometric data.<\/p>\n

For years TikTok has argued that it would never hand over user information.<\/p>\n

It has spent tens of millions of dollars on lobbying efforts and strategies to appease governments.<\/p>\n

At the heart of its attempt to convince US lawmakers is “Project Texas”.<\/p>\n

This is the company’s commitment to store US data in the US – on servers run by a US company – Oracle.<\/p>\n

The company says so far it has spent $1.5bn on this project – and describes it as a “firewall” that protects data from foreign governments.<\/p>\n

TikTok had hoped it would satisfy politicians on all sides.<\/p>\n

Last year Mr Chew wrote to politicians saying he believed the project would “safeguard user data and US national security interests”.<\/p>\n

But sadly for TikTok, Project Texas has been looked at sceptically by both Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n

For many US politicians, for as long as TikTok has a Chinese owner, it will be considered suspicious.<\/p>\n

Last month FBI director Christopher Wray didn’t mince his words about the platform.<\/p>\n

“This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese Government. And to me, it screams out with national security concerns,” he said.<\/p>\n

For most US lawmakers, TikTok would be a far more palatable platform if it were not owned by a Chinese company.<\/p>\n

Last week it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the Biden administration had requested the company be sold for this reason.<\/p>\n

This is not what ByteDance wants. TikTok has enormous potential. And besides, the Chinese company doesn’t wish to sell its greatest asset simply because US politicians want them to.<\/p>\n

This is the backdrop to Thursday’s congressional hearing.<\/p>\n

We already have a fair idea of what Mr Chew is going to say from TikTok briefings.<\/p>\n

He’ll argue that 150 million American users will lose out if the platform is banned – and that thousands of small businesses rely on the platform.<\/p>\n

He’ll push back on the idea that ByteDance is Chinese-owned – saying the company has many international investors.<\/p>\n

And he’ll also argue that Chinese laws cannot compel ByteDance to share American data – because TikTok is a US-based company, with its data stored in the US.<\/p>\n

But often these hearings make headlines for one or perhaps two specific exchanges.<\/p>\n

Mark Zuckerberg’s famous Senate hearing in 2018 is often remembered for one brilliant question from Senator Richard Durbin.<\/p>\n

“Mr Zuckerberg, would you be comfortable sharing with us which hotel you stayed in last night?” he said.<\/p>\n

The Facebook boss looked visibly uncomfortable before saying “no”.<\/p>\n

“I think that might be what this is all about…your right to privacy,” the senator said.<\/p>\n

It’s these curveball questions that Shou Zi Chew should fear most.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eritrea<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eritrea. On Thursday, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, will be opening a lion’s mouth and placing his own head into it. He’s giving testimony in the US Congress for the first time, a scary thing to do. And at stake is the future of the phenomenally popular video-sharing app in the US. “I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[242,243,233],"class_list":["post-15250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eritrea","tag-eritrea"],"yoast_head":"\nTikTok's US future at stake in Congress showdown - Eritrea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On Thursday, TikTok's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, will be opening a lion's mouth and placing his own head into it. 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