4:30. This is the length of the hearing for Show Zi Chu, CEO of TikTok, face in the US Congress this Thursday, March 23, 2023. At the head of the network social most popular at the moment, with no less than 2 billion users worldwide, the Chinese businessman had to defend son beak and nail application. But the fate of TikTok has already been sealed in the minds of American politicians convinced that TikTok is indeed menace for the national security of their country. TikTok scares American politicians so much that this time, Republicans and Democrats are in complete agreement: the Chinese app needs to be banned as soon as possible. possible. Interrogated and surrounded by a crowd on all sides, Show Tzu Chu was unable to convince son audience. Only increasing distrust of the American Congress. A real shipwreck in three stages…
Spy, spy…
At first, it would seem that Show Tzu Chu and the US Congress do not have the same definition of the term “spy”. When questioned by Republican Neil Dunn, TikTok’s CEO sank even further in his desire to defend himself. “Did Byte-Dance Ever Spy on Americans on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party?”. Pretty simple question… But the answer is not really that. “I don’t think espionage is the right definition,” Shou Tzu Chu counters. That set fire to gunpowder. While the CEO wanted to put everyone at ease son “Texas project”, again: mayonnaise does not take. US user data will soon be stored on US soil under the control of the American company Oracle. But in the meantime… The Zi Chu show confirmed that ByteDance engineers currently have access to US user data for global compatibility reasons. And again he holds out a good pole to politicians who make him face. Because if Chinese engineers can access this data, what is stopping the Chinese government from accessing it? Unfortunately, TikTok’s CEO has been unable to provide a convincing enough response to his detractors.
The confusing relationship between TikTok and ByteDance
ByteDance is the parent company of TikTok, like Meta and Facebook. But in order to save the skin of the social network, the show Zi Chu tried everything to put a little distance between two entities. Indeed, Katie McMorris Rogers said that “ByteDance is indebted to the Chinese Communist Party, and ByteDance and TikTok are one and the same.” But TikTok’s CEO’s attempts weren’t convincing. Simply because Show Zi Chu worked as the CFO of ByteDance before he became the CEO of the network. social Chinese. Moreover, after beating around the bush and under pressure from politicians, he confirmed that he owns shares in the parent company… Despite everything, he claims that “the Chinese government does not own or control ByteDance. This is a private enterprise,” although the notion of a private enterprise has been debated by politicians.
How about mental health in all of this?
Aside from allegations of espionage, TikTok also stands out for its impact on the mental health of its users. Especially the younger ones. If version for children under 13 is available in the US, it is not available in Singapore. So when on asks TikTok CEO if his own kids use the network social Chinese, the answer leaves goosebumps. No, his offspring do not have TikTok, but for the simple and good reason that they are not 13 years old. According to him, they would definitely be in the application if they lived in the USA. This time the argument again struggles to seduce the audience. Despite these long hours of interrogation, the opinion of the American Congress does not seem to have changed one iota. However, Show Zi Chew had a good wit. Asked about TikTok’s use of user data, the CEO reminded politicians of Meta’s scandal with Cambridge Analytica… But I’m not sure it’s enough to change the mind of the US Congress.
