TikTok CEO Shou Chew tells users to ‘make your voices heard,’ contact senators as House bill gains steam
NY Post
A defiant TikTok CEO Shou Chew urged Americans to “make your voices heard” to oppose a ban of the China-owned app – effectively thumbing his nose at House lawmakers who overwhelmingly passed a bill requiring its parent firm ByteDance to divest.
Chew doubled down on his company’s aggressive pressure campaign – even after TikTok reportedly enraged House lawmakers by sending a push notification pressuring users to call their local representatives to protest the legislation ahead of the vote. TikTok appears poised to utilize the same tactic against US senators.
“We believe we can overcome this together,” Chew said late Wednesday. “I encourage you to keep sharing your stories. Share them with your friends, share them with your family, share them with your senators. Protect your constitutional rights. Make your voices heard. Love you all.”
In the short video, Chew called the result of Wednesday’s House’s vote “disappointing” and decried what he described as “a lot of misinformation” about the legislative push. He also signaled TikTok would be ‘exercising our legal rights” as the bill advances through Congress.
The Post has reached out to TikTok for further comment.
The House voted 352-65 in favor of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, easily clearing a two-thirds majority required for passage. As The Post reported, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is under major pressure to hold a vote on the bill.
