TikTok’s CEO has pledged to spend $2 billion to protect children and the other 170 million U.S.-based users of the popular video-sharing app.
According to Bloomberg, TikTok chief Shou Chiu plans to spend a six-figure sum to protect the company’s trust and the world’s safety, and the company has a team of more than 40,000 people working on these efforts. It is said that there is.
Chu is expected to reveal more detailed plans for how the funds will be distributed during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where he will be joined by the CEOs of Meta, X, Snap and Discord. They will testify about the achievements of each company. Protect young users.
TikTok has warned that the China-based platform (whose user base is currently dominated by Gen Z, aged 11 to 26) has an algorithm built in that could hand over American user data to the Chinese government. , has been under intense scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Chu also plans to highlight a number of policies regarding TikTok’s unique teenage users, including a ban on users under the age of 16 on the app from sending messages. The content states that the video cannot be downloaded or recommended to the same user. is not yet connected.
Meanwhile, users under 17 have a preset screen limit of 60 minutes before a password is required to continue watching.
As stated in Chu’s prepared testimony obtained by Bloomberg, TikTok also uses technology to screen published content for prohibited content, such as sexually explicit images of children. It is being examined.
Chu also prepared to inform the committee that the third-party tools the app uses to manage direct messages, PhotoDNA and Take It Down, will continue, Bloomberg reports. It is said that there is.
Chew will say that direct messages are managed using third-party tools such as PhotoDNA and Take It Down.
Representatives for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Mr. Chu’s appearance in Congressional testimony on Wednesday will be the 41-year-old’s second appearance before the committee.
Last year, Mr. Chu’s visit to the U.S. Capitol came after Mr. Chu gave evasive or unclear answers to questions from lawmakers about the app’s ties to China and its failure to crack down on harmful content aimed at underage users. It was described as a “disaster moment” for TikTok.
Mr. Chu tried to allay concerns by investing a similarly large $1.5 billion in an initiative called “Project Texas,” in which the company announced that all of its U.S.-centric data would be managed by tech giant Oracle. I promised to move it to the server.
Despite Chu’s March 2023 testimony, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration in August banned all government devices, saying TikTok posed a “security threat to the city’s technology network.” Banned the use of TikTok.
