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Who is Shou Zi Chew, the Tiktok CEO who has been grilled by US lawmakers?
Chew told US lawmakers that TikTok prioritizes user safety to avoid a US ban by downplaying the app’s ties to China.
US lawmakers grilled TikTok’s CEO on data security and harmful content on Thursday, responding skeptically to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned.
Shou Zi Chew’s rare public appearance came at a critical juncture for the company, which has 150 million American customers but is under increasing scrutiny from US officials. TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have become embroiled in a larger geopolitical conflict between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers pressed Chew on a variety of topics, including TikTok’s content moderation practices, how the company plans to secure American data from Beijing, and its spying on journalists, in a bipartisan effort to limit the power of a major social media platform.
“Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” said Republican Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers in her opening statement.
Who is Shou Zi Chew?
Chew and his wife, Vivian Kao, have two children and live in Singapore. The 40-year-old CEO completed his undergraduate studies at University College London in 2006 and then worked for Goldman Sachs for two years.
Chew then went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School in the United States. According to the Associated Press, he interned at Facebook for two years during his academic career.
Chew went on to become a partner at DST Global, a venture capital firm, where he spent five years and contributed to investment activities that resulted in the formation of ByteDance. Chew spent another five years at Xiaomi, a well-known Chinese smartphone manufacturer, after leaving DST Global. He was named TikTok’s CEO in 2021, succeeding former Disney executive Kevin Mayer. Chew now reports to Liang Rubo, the CEO of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company.
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