TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appealed directly to the app’s users ahead of this week’s heavy demands at the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. video Posted on the platform on Tuesday.
Shot from Washington, DC, Chu highlighted large TikTok users, small businesses, and employees who depend on the US-based company. The message could preview his appeal to lawmakers on Thursday, where he questioned the ability of Chinese parent company ByteDance and the Chinese government to access U.S. user information collected by the app. will be faced with
TikTok has been working on a risk mitigation plan to keep US data out of the hands of foreign adversaries through the app. The company says US user data is already stored outside of China.
But many lawmakers and intelligence officials don’t seem convinced that information can be safe while TikTok is owned by a Chinese company. TikTok said last week that the U.S. Foreign Investment Commission, which is reviewing risks associated with the app, is asking ByteDance to sell its shares or face a ban.
In a video, Chew revealed that TikTok has over 150 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the US. This represents a significant increase from when he first announced in August 2020 that he had nearly 100 million MAUs in the US. That number includes his 5 million businesses that use apps to reach customers, most of which are small businesses. He also said TikTok has his 7,000 US-based employees.
“This is a pivotal moment for us,” Chu said, referring to lawmakers’ threat of a TikTok ban. “This could take TikTok away from all 150 million people.”
Chew then asked users directly to share in the comments what they would like people to know about why they love TikTok.
Watch: TikTok and ByteDance spied on this Forbes reporter
