Shou Zi Chew changed into fancams after congressional listening to

Video collages and thirsty feedback devoted to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew began appearing on the platform following the CEO congressional testimony yesterday when he spent 5 hours defending the platform earlier than the Home Power and Commerce Committee.

On TikTok, fan edits devoted to the 40-year-old declared him “TikTok dad” and “the perfect CEO of our era”.

Chew was within the scorching seat to reply questions from lawmakers about the way forward for the favored video-sharing app, which at present has greater than 150 million month-to-month customers in the USA alone.

Democratic and Republican politicians have expressed issues in regards to the app's China-based mother or father firm and what which means for consumer security, knowledge privateness and nationwide safety. Some legislators have referred to as for the platform to be banned in the USA, over fears that its mother or father firm, ByteDance, could share or share US consumer knowledge with the Chinese language authorities. In his testimony, Chew mentioned there was no proof that the Chinese language authorities ever accessed consumer knowledge.

“Let me say this unequivocally: ByteDance isn't an agent of China or every other nation,” Chew mentioned within the written assertion who started his testimony.

There are at present three payments in Congress that might have an effect on American entry to TikTok. Two would legislate an outright ban on the platform, whereas the opposite would give the federal government the ability to ban any know-how deemed a nationwide safety danger.

Yesterday's listening to put the TikTok CEO within the highlight as he claimed banning the app would hurt hundreds of thousands of American companies and a brand new subsidiary named Texas Challenge would offer a significant resolution that might enable the app to stay lively in the USA.

Whereas lawmakers appeared unconvinced, Chew's protection of the app, together with his reward for sub-communities inside the app, like “BookTok,” a group for folks to debate studying suggestions, appeared to ring a bell with those that discovered inspiration on the platform. .

On-line, a rising group of creators appeared impressed with Chew's efficiency regardless of the tense nature of the viewers and confirmed their admiration in essentially the most natural method: by creating fan montages and memes.