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TikTok CEO Shaw Tzu-chu, who will testify before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee tomorrow, plans to tell lawmakers that the online video-sharing app, owned by the Beijing-based company "ByteDance" is "dedicated to protecting the personal data of its users and is not exposed to the influence of the government of China", reports BTA.

The head of TikTok is expected to answer questions from US lawmakers about the social network's influence on younger users and possible US national security risks related to the popular online platform founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.

Before the US congressional committee, Shaw Tzu Chu will stick to the familiar scenario, which includes claims that TikTok is not dependent on the Beijing-based ByteDance Corporation and does not provide Chinese authorities with information about its users.

The senior executive is expected to urge US authorities not to move to ban the online app outright and to drop their demand that Chinese shareholders in the company that runs TikTok sell their stakes.

TikTok is at a "pivotal" moment

The tech company's CEO said banning the online app in the US would hurt the country's economy and small businesses that use TikTok to sell their products, while limiting competition to one "all more concentrated market".

"TikTok" has about 150 million users in the United States, writes AP.

According to the notes that the head of the technology corporation prepared for his hearing before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the plans of the owners of the online platform to guarantee the security of the data of their users include a project worth 1.5 billion dollars that foresees the information from "TikTok " to be stored on computer servers in the United States owned by the American corporation "Oracle" (Oracle).

It is intended to give the right to external experts to check the "source code" on the basis of which the online platform was created (a set of instructions and statements written by a programmer using a computer programming language - note ed.).

"None of the other technology companies that operate social networks or online entertainment platforms like TikTok provide a similar level of access and transparency," said Shaw Tzu Chu.

The Singapore-born 40-year-old businessman is categorical: "Let me state categorically: "ByteDance" (the company that owns "TikTok" - note ed. ) is not an agent of China or any other country".

US Congress

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