TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

TikTok's CEO was relatively unknown to the U.S. public before Thursday, when he testified before a congressional committee concerned about data protections ...

Chew’s decision to emphasize TikTok’s reach in the U.S. After earning his MBA, he became a partner at venture capital firm DST Global, where he worked for five years and helped facilitate investment in the company that became ByteDance. Most Americans likely first heard of Chew when he released a video this week speaking directly to TikTok’s U.S. He graduated in 2006 from University College London and worked for two years at Goldman Sachs before moving to the U.S. Chew attempted to persuade lawmakers not to pursue a ban on the app or force Chinese parent company ByteDance to give up its ownership stake, testifying that TikTok prioritizes the safety of young users. TikTok's CEO was relatively unknown to the U.S.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's disastrous performance in the face of vicious bipartisan questioning on Capitol Hill will likely increase calls for a sale or ...

“If a ban is placed, SNAP should be the biggest beneficiary.” “Shou came prepared to answer questions from Congress, but, unfortunately, the day was dominated by political grandstanding that failed to acknowledge the real solutions already underway,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement after the hearing. Ives labeled Chew’s performance a “disaster moment” for the company that will “likely catalyze more calls by lawmakers and the White House to look to ban TikTok within the US if the company does not look to spin-off and force a sale from Chinese parent ByteDance.” Though a potential ban of TikTok has received bipartisan backing, a sale is the more likely outcome due to the platform’s massive popularity among potential voters, Zino said. “We come away with the belief that an outright sale or ban is looking increasingly likely in the next 12-18 months,” he added. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony on Capitol Hill was a “disaster moment” for the company that will likely increase calls for a sale or outright ban of the problematic platform, Wall Street analysts predicted.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before Congress to testify about the platform in an attempt to prevent a potential U.S. ban. Here's everything to know ...

Since stepping into the top role, much of Chew's time has been devoted to defending the app to government officials who question the company's relationship with the Chinese government. She and Chew are also parents to two young children, whom the TikTok CEO recently said are 8 and 6 years old. "By the way, she was born just a few miles away from here, in Virginia." to attend Harvard Business School, where he first entered the tech industry with a summer internship at Facebook. He later moved to the U.S. It was there that he first encountered the then-30-person team that would become ByteDance. [video on TikTok's official profile](https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktok/video/7212953186724842795) announcing that the app had officially registered 150 million U.S. However, he stated that if he lived in the U.S., where it is available, they would be permitted to use it. "A lot was said at the hearing, but I hope you heard the message, the important message, that it is our responsibility to protect more than 150 million Americans who love and use our platform," he said before outlining a series of commitments to users. He also appealed to TikTok users for their help, asking them to share what they loved and wanted their elected officials to know about the platform in the comments. He then went on to study at University College London, graduating with a degree in economics. In March 2023, however, Biden's administration endorsed a bipartisan bill that would empower the government to eliminate TikTok in the U.S.

Legislators seem keen to ban popular app they consider to be threat to national security.

[the EU](https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/2023/02/23/european-commission-bans-staff-from-using-tiktok/), Canada and New Zealand, have already banned TikTok. Nearly half of all US states have also banned the app on government devices. and continue to be under the aegis of the [Chinese] Communist Party,” Mr Pallone said. [The UK has also announced a ban](https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2023/03/23/tiktok-to-be-blocked-on-all-uk-parliament-devices/) on the app on government devices. [TikTok](https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2023/03/17/when-will-tiktok-be-banned-in-the-us/) is a grave threat of foreign influence in American life,” she said. [community guidelines](https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/technology/2023/03/21/tiktok-revamps-community-guidelines-amid-looming-threat-of-us-ban/) and published a “Myth v Fact” sheet countering claims that its parent company is owned by China, Punchbowl News reported. Mr Chew said the app did not “promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government” and that the company was committed to not being manipulated by any government. [possible nationwide ban.](https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2023/03/17/tiktok-ban-us/) [Mr Chew faced a barrage of questions](https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2023/03/23/tiktok-ceo-shou-zi-chew-congress-china/) from a group of hostile politicians who sit on the House energy and commerce committee, who grew more incredulous as the [TikTok](https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/technology/2023/03/21/tiktok-says-nearly-half-of-all-americans-use-site-as-ban-threat-looms/) boss wavered under their questioning. “Why the hysteria and the panic and the targeting of TikTok?” asked Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman at a news conference on Wednesday. [endorsed by the White House](https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/technology/2023/03/07/white-house-backs-new-senate-bill-granting-power-to-ban-tiktok/) — that would ban the app used by 150 million Americans. [Shou Zi Chew](https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/technology/2023/03/23/shou-zi-chew-tiktok-who/)'s four-hour testimony before Congress on Thursday did little to convince US legislators that the app is not connected to the Chinese government. She said China could use the app “as a tool to manipulate America as a whole”.

This week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of Congress to address lawmakers' concerns about the app's Chinese ownership.

[not popular](https://www.businessinsider.com/jamaal-bowman-press-conference-tiktok-ban-xenophobic-red-scare-2023-3) with the app’s users, and a handful of them [arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday](https://twitter.com/UrsulaPerano/status/1638627522844983296?s=20) to protest. At one point, Georgia representative [Earl “Buddy” Carter](https://www.tiktok.com/@gbp97/video/7213775012883434795?_r=1&_t=8atY9JYvN6Y) asked Chew if phone cameras track users’ pupil dilations, only to appear profoundly confused by the answer. Another representative, North Carolina’s [Richard Hudson](https://www.tiktok.com/@hoolie_r/video/7213797620110626090?_r=1&_t=8atYA8kgQiE), seemed not to have a full grasp on how internet connection works, asking, “Does TikTok access the home Wi-Fi network?” During his [five-hour testimony](https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-hearing-congress-interrupting-grilling-ceo-ban-sale-2023-3), he vowed that the app prioritizes the safety of young users and outlined TikTok’s plan to move U.S. [TikTok](https://www.thecut.com/2023/03/tiktok-bans-what-to-know.html) CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of Congress to address lawmakers’ concerns about the app’s Chinese ownership. Because TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China and potentially subject to data audits from the Chinese government, the [Biden administration](https://www.businessinsider.com/banning-tiktok-bipartisan-issue-biden-trump-sale-last-resort-2023-3?utm_medium=ingest&utm_source=markets&_gl=1*z8z54c*_ga*MTcyOTUwODUyMS4xNjczMzgzOTAx*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3OTY3NTQ5Mi45LjEuMTY3OTY3NzY0MC42MC4wLjA.) wants to either force a sale to an American company or ban TikTok nationwide.

No one expected meaningful discourse at the House hearing on TikTok. At least we got entertainment.

[lose $3 billion](https://fortune.com/2023/03/24/ford-motors-projects-loss-electric-vehicles-tesla/) this year, a cost, it says, of refounding the company. And, as my colleague [David Meyer has written](https://fortune.com/2023/03/02/when-it-comes-to-the-tiktok-ban-debate-hypocrisy-abounds/), U.S. Chinese law [allows the government to seek inside information](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/23/tiktok-ceo-china-based-bytedance-employees-can-still-access-some-us-data.html) from companies based there in instances when it believes there are national security issues—a scenario that the U.S. users](https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-tell-congress-it-has-150-million-monthly-active-us-users-2023-03-20/)—and its connections to China’s authoritarian government. “At the same time, there’s a risk that plugins could increase safety challenges by taking harmful or unintended actions, increasing the capabilities of bad actors who would defraud, mislead, or abuse others,” OpenAI said in The threat is troubling for some who say these apps are a lifeline to connect to communities in the U.S. According to the report, which cites anonymous sources, Musk had grown concerned that OpenAI was falling behind Google and proposed that he take control of OpenAI to get things back on track. That could spell trouble not only for Chinese-owned apps like WeChat and CapCut but other apps that run outside of the U.S. But since the proposals give the U.S. [TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew](https://fortune.com/2023/03/22/tiktok-ceo-shou-zi-chew-debut-spotlight-congress-hearing-china-bytedance/) with questions about potentially harmful algorithms and data privacy. As Will Oremus of the Washington Post The ongoing spectacle of detangling TikTok from its Chinese owner, which now lies at a stalemate, has seen no meaningful progress.

After TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers on Thursday, the platform's users shared their support the way they know best — through thirsty fan ...

[a slap in the face](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/tiktok-ban-slap-face-young-democratic-voters-activists-warn-rcna76142)" to young voters. [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktok/video/7214065189220601131) posted Friday morning, Chew thanked users for their support and reiterated the app's commitment to protecting the [150 million Americans](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/tiktok-now-150-million-active-users-us-ceo-tell-congress-rcna75607) that use the platform. "Love this app. The video had over 40,000 comments as of Friday morning, most of them positive. "It seems clear that much of America did not experience the hearing the same way many political insiders and reporters did," Oberwetter said in an email statement to NBC News. They paired the videos with captions praising his testimony.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified Thursday at a congressional hearing over concerns about user data collected by the popular video-sharing app and potential ...

Chew’s decision to emphasize TikTok’s reach in the U.S. After earning his MBA, he became a partner at venture capital firm DST Global, where he worked for five years and helped facilitate investment in the company that became ByteDance. Most Americans likely first heard of Chew when he released a video this week speaking directly to TikTok’s U.S. He graduated in 2006 from University College London and worked for two years at Goldman Sachs before moving to the U.S. Chew attempted to persuade lawmakers not to pursue a ban on the app or force Chinese parent company ByteDance to give up its ownership stake, testifying that TikTok prioritizes the safety of young users. He says the company plans to store all U.S.

On TikTok, fan edits dedicated to the 40-year-old have declared him “TikTok daddy” and “the finest ceo of our generation.” Chew was in the hot seat fielding ...

[reported](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access) last year, on several occasions in 2021 and 2022, ByteDance employees accessed nonpublic US TikTok user data. In his testimony, Chew said there was no evidence the Chinese government had ever accessed user data. There are currently three bills in Congress that could affect American access to TikTok. In December, ByteDance said in a [statement](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/bytedance-tiktok-user-data-report) that an internal investigation revealed that personal TikTok user data, including that of the BuzzFeed News reporter who broke the story as well as several other journalists who cover TikTok, had been accessed without authorization by ByteDance employees who were then fired. [Wired](https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-rally-washington-chew-testimony/?mc_cid=28fb39f1c6&mc_eid=cb21e24963), TikTok covered either the travel and or hotel accommodation expenses for more than 30 influencers at the orchestrated news conference in Washington, DC, as confirmed by a TikTok spokesperson. [testified in front of Congress](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/05/congress-demands-mark-zuckerberg-answer-questions-at-haugen-hearing.html). [Project Texas](https://www.lawfareblog.com/project-texas-details-tiktoks-plan-remain-operational-united-states) would provide a meaningful solution that would allow the app to remain active in the US. [video](https://www.tiktok.com/@jesicaelise/video/7213797294469025066), which features a green screen collage of Chew in action. [written statement](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF00/20230323/115519/HHRG-118-IF00-Wstate-ChewS-20230323.pdf) [that started his testimony.](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF00/20230323/115519/HHRG-118-IF00-Wstate-ChewS-20230323.pdf) Some lawmakers have [testimony to Congress](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/tiktok-ceo-shou-zi-chew-congressional-hearing) yesterday, when he spent five hours defending the platform in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. [called](https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/house-energy-chair-rodgers-assails-tiktok-ceo-we-do-not-trust-tiktok-ever-embrace-american-values) for the platform to be banned in the US over worries that its parent company, ByteDance, could or would share American user data with the Chinese government.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced five hours of questioning from lawmakers on March 23. Here's what you should know about the Harvard graduate and tech ...

Here's a quick guide for what to know about Chew, a 40-year-old Singaporean who interned at Facebook and studied at Harvard.

However, this has not been enough to assuage fears that Chew and TikTok are ultimately answerable to ByteDance in Beijing. user data to the Chinese government, and that it would not do so if asked. user data on servers in the United States and Singapore, that it has not been asked to provide U.S. After completing Harvard Business School, he worked with DST Global as a partner, where he helped to coordinate one of the earliest investments in ByteDance by building relationships with its two young founding engineers, Liang Rubo and Zhang Yiming. Chew was born and raised in Singapore, the island nation in Southeast Asia that has become a prominent bridge for international business between China and the West. Chew's internship was with Facebook, the then-ascendant social network that is now a bitter competitor to TikTok.

In today's edition of 10 Things in Tech: Romance scams are on the rise, Gen Z is coming for the housing market, and how to land a job in tech.

[Here's why](https://www.businessinsider.com/testers-say-google-bard-worse-than-chatgpt-2023-3). [sign up here](https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech). On Tuesday, Google invited users in the US and UK to Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars. In a seven-page letter, the billionaire focused on three sectors he believes AI can transform — as well acknowledging the risk of superintelligent AI that could "establish their own goals." Officials close to the presidential administration were told: "It's all over for the iPhone: either throw it away or give it to the children," per a Reuters translation. From using LinkedIn to work smarter, not harder, to being loud about your layoff, Jeff Sipe shared some tips on how to stand out. A former Google recruiter broke down how to land a job in tech. With technology and know-how that previous generations could have only dreamed of at their age, Gen Zers are poised to reshape the housing market as they claim their slice of the pie. But, more importantly, he did what most of us would never do: he acted on every step. A lover left in the lurch is a tale as old as time. How do you spend $400,000 on takeaway in a matter of months?