TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew used the Chinese-owned social media platform under fire from U.S. lawmakers and the intelligence community as a potential national security threat to send a video message to American users ahead of his expected testimony before Congress Thursday that, "Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok."
"Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you," Chew said in the video, which now has more than 8.2 million views and more than 907,500 likes as of Thursday morning.
"Hi everyone, it's Shou here. The CEO of TikTok. I'm here in Washington, D.C., today, and I have some news and updates to share with everyone here," Chew, donning a casual white T-shirt, jeans and a navy blue zip-up sweatshirt, said in a friendly tone. "Today, I'm super excited to announce that more than 150 million Americans are on TikTok.
The on-screen text notes that 150 million represents the number of monthly active users.
"That's almost half of the U.S. coming to TikTok to connect, to share, to learn or just to have some fun," Chew said. "This includes 5 million businesses that use TikTok to reach their customers, and the majority of these are small or medium businesses. Now these numbers are amazing. And I'm so thankful to all of you, and the 7,000 TikTok employees in the U.S. whop are helping us build this incredible community in America and around the world."
"Now this comes at a pivotal moment for us," Chew continues, sitting in a chair in front of a window overlooking the Capitol building. "Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok. Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you."
