Who is Shou Zi Chew? Here’s Everything You Must Know About Him
To prevent a ban in the US by downplaying the app’s ties to China, Chew explained to the US senators that TikTok prioritises user safety.
TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese internet company ByteDance, with more than 150 million users in the United States. Shou Zi Chew, the chief executive of the multimedia platform, was interrogated by US senators over China’s capacity to access the data of millions of Americans for nearly six hours on Thursday amid concerns about national security in the US.
He was quickly interrupted by the congressmen, who claimed that the app was harmful to both mental health and US national security. Representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties fiercely questioned Chew on issues like TikTok’s content moderation procedures.
By downplaying the app’s ties to China, Chew told legislators that TikTok prioritizes user safety to avoid being banned in the US.
Now, a ban is dependent on the Senate passing the “Restrict Act,” a bipartisan law that provides the US Commerce Department with the power to forbid foreign technology that poses a threat to national security.
Who is Shou Zi Chew?
Shou Zi Chew, his wife Vivian Kao, and their two kids reside in Singapore. The 40-year-old chief executive spent two years working for Goldman Sachs after completing his undergraduate studies at University College London in 2006.
Chew continued to Harvard Business School in the US to acquire a master’s degree. He completed a two-year internship at Facebook during his academic career, the Associated Press said.
Chew spent five years as a partner in the venture capital firm DST Global after receiving his MBA. During this time, he participated in investment efforts that helped ByteDance come into being. Chew spent five more years with Xiaomi, a well-known Chinese smartphone manufacturer, after his time at DST Global. He succeeded Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive, as CEO of TikTok in 2021. Liang Rubo, the CEO of ByteDance, the organisation that owns TikTok, now receives updates from Chew.
Chew’s questioning with US lawmakers
Shou Zi Chew was unable to answer the question of whether Chinese-owned TikTok would be banned in the US as a result of the interrogation. He once said, “It’s a complex subject,” to a question from senators about whether ByteDance’s Chinese developers have access to the data of American users.
Chew tried to disprove suggestions that TikTok or ByteDance are instruments of the Chinese government for the majority of the hearing. But he dodged questioning regarding China’s abuses of Uyghurs’ human rights, and he seemed surprised by a TikTok video shown by a lawmaker that called for violence against the House committee sponsoring the hearing.
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