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The CEO of the viral Chinese-owned app TikTok on March 23 refused to take a position on China’s human rights record, saying that his platform alllows users to “freely express their views on this issue.”
“Congresswoman, if you use our app, and you open it, you will find our users who give all sorts of content on the platform,” TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew told Rep. Debbie Lesko when asked if he agrees that “the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population.”
“That’s not my question,” the Arizona Republican responded. “My question is, do you agree that the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population?”
“It’s really concerning to hear about all accounts of human rights abuse, my role here is to explain what our platform does on this,” answered Chew.
Lesko cut Chew off and caused him of “being pretty evasive.”
“It’s a pretty easy question,” she said, repeating the question a third time, to which Chew again avoided giving a direct answer, saying that “as a platform we allow our users to freely express their views on this issue and any other issue in the United States.”
The exchange took place at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where members of Congress hammered the TikTok executive over the company’s connection with China and its data privacy practices.
