Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, asked Chew to remove “Texas” from the company’s data privacy plan.
Chew previously told Project Texas that it holds all the data on US users within the country through a partnership with Oracle.
“Please rename your project. Texas is not an appropriate name,” Pfluger said. “We stand for freedom and transparency, and we don’t want your plan.”
Despite TikTok’s growing popularity, Chew is relatively unknown compared to rival executives like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg or Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Chew, 40, who trained at Facebook and graduated from University College London and Harvard Business School, will become TikTok CEO in 2021.
“I’m responsible for all strategic decisions at TikTok,” Chew told the New York Times in November.
He currently resides in Singapore where he was born and brought up with his wife and two children.
Raising national security concerns, Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., listed a number of Western countries, as well as the FBI, that have warned the Chinese government of accessing and exploiting user data.
“How could all these countries and our own FBI director be wrong?” asked Lesko.
“I think a lot of the risks that have been pointed out are hypothetical and theoretical risks,” replied Chew. “I don’t see any evidence.”
“I look forward to the discussions we will have on evidence,” he added. “Then we can address the concerns that are raised.”
Chew previously said that TikTok does not share US user data with the Chinese government, nor would it comply if asked to do so.
Rep. Earl Carter, R-Ga., asked Chew about dangerous TikTok challenge videos like the “blackout challenge,” which critics say encourages users to strangle themselves.
TikTok is also facing several lawsuits from parents who claim their children have died trying to counter the blackout challenge. The Washington Post reported that the company blocked searches for the #blackoutchallenge.
“Why does TikTok fail to detect and control such malicious videos?” Carter asked. “Why can’t you control this?”
Chew replied, “It’s a real industry challenge and we’re working really hard.”
“We’re not talking about careers,” Carter replied. “We’re talking about TikTok.”
