TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies earlier than the Home Power and Commerce Committee within the Rayburn Home Workplace Constructing on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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To identify and take away offensive posts, TikTok has tens of 1000’s of Eire-based employees tasked with content material moderation, CEO Shou Zi Chew stated on Thursday.
Talking on the TED2023 Chance convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, Chew stated TikTok has « clear group tips » and that executives don’t « make any ad-hoc choices » when coping with « dangerous actors » on the web who put up offensive content material on the app.
« Primarily based on that, we now have constructed a staff that’s tens of 1000’s of individuals plus machines to be able to determine content material that’s dangerous, and actively, proactively take away it from the platform, » Chew stated.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, is below intense strain from U.S. lawmakers who need to ban the app over issues it poses a menace to nationwide safety. Chew’s feedback come weeks after the CEO withstood a barrage of robust questioning from U.S. legislators, who’ve additionally criticized TikTok for failing to stop the unfold of offensive content material on its platform or handle its contribution to an increase in teenage melancholy.
« As an organization, our aim is to not optimize and maximize time spent, » Chew stated on Thursday, including that when individuals are glued to their smartphone screens TikTok « will proactively ship you movies to inform you to get off the platform. »
The dangerous content material drawback shouldn’t be distinctive to TikTok. U.S. rivals, together with Meta, guardian of Fb and Instagram, and Google’s YouTube, have confronted comparable questions from lawmakers.
Chew stated TikTok takes the matter significantly.
« We actually encourage dad and mom to have these conversations with their youngsters of what’s the correct quantity of display screen time, » Chew stated. « I feel there is a wholesome relationship that you need to have together with your display screen and, as a enterprise, you already know, we imagine that that steadiness must be met. »
Chew additionally introduced up TikTok’s Challenge Texas initiative, which is on the coronary heart of the corporate’s effort to reassure the general public that the info of U.S. customers will stay on home soil and will not fall into the fingers of international governments, most notably China.
Though TikTok is partnering with Silicon Valley software program vendor Oracle to retailer and defend person information, U.S. lawmakers stay involved that Beijing might eavesdrop on U.S. residents or probably unfold propaganda through the TikTok app.
« I can say that we’re constructing all of the instruments to stop any of those actions from taking place, » Chew stated. « And I am very assured that with an unprecedented quantity of transparency that we’re giving on the platform, we will cut back this danger to as little as zero as potential. »
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