TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says some U.S. data may still be accessible for ByteDance employees

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says employees at ByteDance – the China-based parent of the short video app may still have access to U.S. user data.

Rep Rodgers says TikTok is a threat

Testifying to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, Chew confirmed that they’ll lose that access once Project Texas is complete. As part of the said risk mitigation plan, TikTok started deleting data from its servers in Virginia and Singapore last week.

Once it’s completely removed, ByteDance employees will no longer have access to U.S. user data, the chief executive added. Still, Rep. McMorris Rodgers said today on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”:

China’s take on the recent developments

The Biden Administration is currently pushing ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok for the social platform to avoid a ban in the United States. But China’s Commerce Ministry this morning said it’ll oppose such a forced sale.

TikTok currently has 150 million active users in the U.S. Speaking with CNBC, Rep Rodgers added:

Also on Thursday, Alex Capri (Research Fellow at Hinrich Foundation) said Beijing would prefer a U.S. ban on TikTok over letting the platform fall in the U.S. hands.