‘No evidence, hypothetical’: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on India’s reasons to ban app

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony before a US congressional hearing that lastedfor almost five hours was gruelling and relentless.He faced a volley of questions over security concerns and the potential Chinese government’s influence.

This was Chow’s first-ever appearance before the US lawmakers as the TikTok CEO. The hearing witnessed a rare bipartisan call for banning the app on Thursday even as the 40-year-old tried to assuage their concerns saying, “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”

But the lawmakers kept raising the heat as they wanted to know whether the Chinese government had access to TikTok’s millions of users’ data.

During her line of questioning, US lawmaker Debbie Lesko quoted India and other countries that have recently banned TikTok in some form.

"This (TikTok) is a tool which is ultimately under the control of the Chinese government and screams out with national security concerns Mr Chew. How can all of these countries and our FBI director be wrong? asked Lesko.

To which Chew responded, “I think a lot of risks pointed out are hypothetical and theoretical risks. I have not seen any evidence."

TikTok CEO grilled over alleged China ties by US lawmakers for 5 hours

The US lawmaker reiterated and stressed the India ban again.

"India banned TikTok in 2020. On March 21, a Forbes article revealed how data of Indian citizens who used TikTok remained accessible to employees at the company and its Beijing-based parent. A current TikTok employee told Forbes that nearly anyone with basic access to company tools can easily look up the closest contact and other sensitive information about any user," Lesko informed her colleagues.

Chew responded by saying that they are looking into the testimony of the TikTok employee quoted by Forbes and asserted that he disagrees with the conclusions drawn from that article.

"This is a recent article; I have asked my team to look into it. We have rigorous data access protocols. There is no such thing that anybody can access the tools. So, I disagree with a lot of the conclusions," Chew said.

In 2020, India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps over privacy and security concerns. The ban was imposed shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at the Ladakh border in Galwan Valley LAC where 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

The companies were given a chance to respond to questions on privacy and security requirements but the ban was made permanent in January 2021.

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