<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"641b51bc8f0889459a7603d5","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Good morning and welcome to our liveblog of today’s interrogation of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew by US Congress members. ","elementId":"0b39dd93-4424-4cd5-a9ea-3e319760b521"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" The panel, convened by the House committee on energy and commerce, will begin at 10am ET and is titled TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy And Protect Children From Online Harms. ","elementId":"54f95e96-71ea-4e3f-922f-f77802df7f26"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" This marks the first appearance from a TikTok chief executive before US lawmakers. It comes as the political storm surrounding the China-owned social media platform intensifies, with the Biden administration threatening…
Tag: TikTok
Congress to grill TikTok CEO over data privacy concerns and safety of users
The chief executive of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is set to face a grilling from US lawmakers on Thursday as the political storm surrounding the China-owned social media platform intensifies with the Biden administration threatening to ban the app entirely in the US.g TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has long faced criticisms over the data it holds on US users – data that lawmakers fear could fall into the hands of the Chinese government. While the platform has repeatedly denied those claims, stating it stores US…
TikTok’s CEO eluded the spotlight. Now, a looming ban means he can’t avoid it
Shou Zi Chew is not a prolific TikToker. The 40-year-old CEO of the Chinese-owned app has just 23 posts and 17,000 followers to his name – paltry by his own platform’s standards. Chew’s profile sees him attending football games, visiting Paris and London, trying Nashville hot chicken, or boating on a lake, often with generic captions. (“Love the outdoors!”). Users have noticed: “Bro the TikTok ceo with 41 likes,” one person commented on his video of the outdoors. “Shout out to this small creator,” another wrote. Suffice to say, Chew…
BBC urges staff to delete TikTok from company mobile phones
The BBC has urged its staff to delete the Chinese-own social media app TikTok from corporate mobile phones. Guidance to BBC staff circulated on Sunday said: “We don’t recommend installing TikTok on a BBC corporate device unless there is a justified business reason. If you do not need TikTok for business reasons, TikTok should be deleted.” The move comes after the UK government banned the app on government-issued phones amid fears of sensitive data being accessed by the Chinese government, owing to its ownership by the Chinese internet company ByteDance.…
Why is TikTok banned from government phones – and should rest of us be worried?
TikTok is wildly popular, with more than 1 billion people consuming its short video posts around the world. But the app is less favoured by politicians in key markets such as the US and UK, where it has been banned from government-issued phones over security fears. We answer your questions about why TikTok has become a lightning rod for suspicion of Chinese state espionage – and whether nationwide bans are likely. Why has TikTok been banned from UK government phones? The main concerns with TikTok are related to data and…
The TikTok wars – why the US and China are feuding over the app
TikTok is once again fending off claims that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would share user data from its popular video-sharing app with the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf. China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday accused the US itself of spreading disinformation about TikTok’s potential security risks following a report in the Wall Street Journal that the committee on foreign investment in the US – part of the treasury department – was threatening a US ban on the app unless its Chinese owners divest their stake.…
MPs and peers ask information commissioner to investigate TikTok
A cross-party group of MPs and peers have asked the information commissioner to investigate whether the Chinese-owned TikTok’s handling of personal information is in breach of UK law. The letter from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) argues that TikTok cannot be compliant with data protection rules – and comes just hours after the UK announced a ban on the popular video-sharing app appearing on ministers’ and officials’ government-owned phones. IPAC believes TikTok could ultimately be forced to shut operations in the UK if it cannot find a way of…
Will UK follow US in demanding TikTok be sold by its Chinese owner?
When asked this week whether the UK would ban TikTok on government phones, Rishi Sunak’s response signalled a change in stance: “We look at what our allies are doing.” Previously ministers had seemed sanguine, even saying that whether or not the app stayed on someone’s phone should be a matter of “personal choice”. Not any more. The UK’s allies are turning against TikTok and it was when Sunak said he was watching their actions closely that a government ban became inevitable. The US, Canada and the EU’s executive arm have…
UK bans TikTok from government mobile phones
Britain is to ban the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from ministers’ and civil servants’ mobile phones, bringing the UK in line with the US and the European Commission and reflecting deteriorating relations with Beijing. The decision marks a sharp U-turn from the UK’s previous position and came a few hours after TikTok said its owner, ByteDance, had been told by Washington to sell the app or face a possible ban in the country. The UK government’s announcement was made on Thursday by Oliver Dowden, the Cabinet Office minister, in the…
UK expected to ban TikTok from government mobile phones
Britain is expected to announce a ban on the Chinese owned video-sharing app TikTok on government mobile phones imminently, bringing the UK inline with the US and European Commission and reflecting deteriorating relations with Beijing. The decision marks a sharp reverse from the UK’s previously relaxed position, but some critics and experts said Britain should also extend the ban to cover personal phones used by ministers and officials – and even consider a complete ban. An announcement is expected from the Cabinet Office potentially as soon as Thursday, sources said,…