Many commenters used a Chinese saying that means “If you want to accuse someone, there’s always a way.” _Īssociated Press Business Writer Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.Douyin Pay, which functions similarly to reigning Chinese electronic wallets WeChat Pay and Alipay, aims to "supplement existing major payment options, and to ultimately enhance user experience," ByteDance told AFP. lawmakers for asking Chew leading or “trap” questions. Most of the social media reaction in China was sympathetic to Chew, with praise for how he handled the hostile questions lobbed at him.Ĭomments on Douyin and microblogging platform Weibo were critical of U.S. HOW DID CHINA REACT TO THE TIKTOK CEO’S WASHINGTON TESTIMONY? ByteDance has said TikTok has “no affiliation” with Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., the subsidiary that operates Douyin Toutiao, a news and short-video platform, and other services. The Communist Party’s extensive internet filters block most users in China from seeing TikTok. lawmakers worried about harmful content viewed by young people. It’s similar to TikTok, but its content is restricted by Chinese censorship rules that prohibit material deemed subversive or pornographic - a point emphasized by U.S. WHAT IS DOUYIN AND WHAT IS TIKTOK’S RELATIONSHIP WITH IT?ĭouyin is ByteDance’s short-video platform for the China market. “The Communist Party doesn’t have voting rights in ByteDance,” Chew said.īyteDance’s main Chinese subsidiary is the license-holder for some of its video and information platforms that only serve the China market. In China, so-called golden shares held by official investment funds are one way for Beijing to gain more oversight over business by giving them a 1% stake in companies.Ĭhew pushed back when lawmakers claimed that the Communist Party owns shares in ByteDance that give it a vote in how the company is run. When questioned whether ByteDance was effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, Chew said he disagreed.Īfter a lawmaker said the Communist Party holds a “golden share” in ByteDance that allows it to control one ByteDance board seat, Chew said, “That’s not correct.” “I do know that the founder himself is not a member of the Communist Party, but we don’t know the political affiliation of our employees because that’s not something we ask,” Chew said. He deflected questions about whether staff and top executives are Communist Party members. In Thursday’s hearing, lawmakers repeatedly tried to pin down Chew on whether ByteDance had links to China’s communist rulers. In November, TikTok’s head of privacy for Europe said some employees in China had access to information about users in Britain and the European Union.ĭOES THE COMMUNIST PARTY HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON BYTEDANCE? data but that won’t be the case once Project Texas is complete. Chew told the lawmakers China-based ByteDance employees may still have access to some U.S. data out of China’s reach.īyteDance disclosed in December that four employees gained access to data about reporters and people connected to them while looking for how information about the company was leaked. The fear is that ByteDance would have to hand over information it obtained from TikTok if ordered to do so by Chinese authorities, but Chew has said Project Texas will put U.S. user data is stored in the United States and the company should finish deleting older U.S. TikTok has promised to protect data on American users by storing it on servers operated by an outside contractor, Oracle Corp., in what’s known as “Project Texas.” Chew, the TikTok CEO, said all new U.S. MUST TIKTOK TURN OVER DATA IF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAYS SO, EVEN WITH “ PROJECT TEXAS?” may not refuse” to collect evidence for an investigation. WHAT CHINESE RULES WORRY WESTERN GOVERNMENTS?Ĭhina’s 2017 National Intelligence Law states that “any organization” must assist or cooperate with state intelligence work while a separate 2014 Counter-Espionage Law says “relevant organizations. Some details of the relationship between TikTok and ByteDance remain unclear to outsiders. Employees own 20% and its founders the remaining 20%. national security.”īyteDance says 60% of its shares are owned by non-Chinese investors such as U.S investment firms Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan’s SoftBank Group. “has not provided any evidence so far to prove that TikTok threatens U.S. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday that China’s government has never and will not ask companies to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” held in foreign countries, adding the U.S. Western governments worry Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over TikTok data on American users, exposing sensitive information.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |