Beijing: China denied claims by US authorities that TikTok is used to collect data on Americans, questions by the company's CEO after lawmakers in Washington called for the famous video-sharing app to be outlawed. Interrogated.
Asked about controversial testimony given by TikTok CEO Shou Ziqiu to the US Congress this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said the People's Republic "takes data privacy and security very seriously."
He said Washington has "provided no proof or evidence that TikTok poses a threat to US national security, yet it has repeatedly pressured and attacked the company based on assumptions of guilt."
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"The Chinese government has never asked any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence based overseas against local laws," he said on Friday.
Mao continued to cite Democratic Congressman Mark Pokan, who has fought against efforts by some lawmakers to ban TikTok outright in the US, accusing him of conducting a "xenophobic witch hunt".
It urged the US government to "respect the principles of the market economy and fair competition" and to stop "suppressing" foreign businesses doing business there.
On Thursday, Chew was made the target of fierce criticism from members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum. Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers began the hearing by saying, "Your platform should be banned."
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Several representatives claimed that TikTok has poor relations with Beijing, but Chew argued that his company is based in Los Angeles and does not follow directives from the Communist Party that governs China.
In response to the CEO's denial that the Chinese government has access to TikTok's data, Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of California said, "I think that's really ridiculous."
Despite Chew's claim that the allegation was never supported by any evidence, many lawmakers were skeptical. According to Yahoo Finance's most recent count, the US federal government and at least 25 state governments have passed laws restricting TikTok on official devices.
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Several officials were prompted to act after FBI Director Christopher Wray alleged that the Chinese government could access the app's data, even though a full ban has not yet been implemented. Despite ongoing allegations, TikTok and Beijing have consistently denied claims that the website is used for data collection or surveillance.