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Dozens of TikTok influencers - along with the company's CEO - are in Washington D.C. to speak with Congress about the controversial social media app. A group of popular TikTokers will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, while CEO Shou Chew will testify before a House committee on Thursday.
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will try to convince U.S. lawmakers not to ban the app over concerns about data collection. [Read More]
Meanwhile, the TikTok CEO appealed directly to the app’s users. “Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok. Now, this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you,” he said in the clip.
Chew shot a video from Washington, D.C., and he emphasized the large scale of TikTok users, small and medium-sized businesses, and its own employees based in the U.S. that rely on the company.
TikTok says it has worked to create a risk mitigation plan to ensure that U.S. data doesn’t get into the hands of a foreign adversary through its app. The company has said U.S. user data is already stored outside of China.
He also shared that TikTok has 7,000 U.S.-based employees. “This comes at a pivotal moment for us,” Chew said, referencing lawmakers’ threats of a TikTok ban. “This could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you.”
Chew asked users to share what they want their representatives to know about why they love TikTok in the comments. [Read More]