TikTok is aware of the problem and has come up with a solution. Project Texas.
member of parliament we, Canada(opens in new tab), Australia(opens in new tab), UK(opens in new tab), France(opens in new tab)and more countries(opens in new tab) Implemented all the different bans for the app due to fear tick tock provides user data to the Chinese government. An investigative journalist has revealed the example of an employee of his ByteDance, the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok. tech surveillance(opens in new tab) upon journalist(opens in new tab)She also said that user data that was supposedly quarantined in the United States Access from China(opens in new tab)All this is a very thorny problem, Experts disagree on extent of Chinese government involvement(opens in new tab).
In the United States, the efforts behind the ban appear aggressive but have little impact beyond political statements. and many University Banned Apps on Institutional Wi-Fi and Devicesa move that simply forces students to access TikTok using a different WiFi connection or cellular plan instead.
Last week, TikTok CEO Shou Chew appeared in Congress for the first time, making it increasingly clear that there is bipartisan support for the app’s ban. What is Chu’s answer? Project Texas is his $1.5 billion attempt to gain US confidence in TikTok’s security.
“Our approach has never dismissed or trivialized any. [your] concern,” Chu told lawmakers at the hearing(opens in new tab)“We’ve dealt with them now with real action. That’s what we’ve been doing for the last two years, building the equivalent of a firewall. Protecting US user data.” from unauthorized foreign access, the bottom line is that this American data is stored on American soil by an American company supervised by Americans. calling.
Lawmakers and creators clash over generational and social differences as US leaders debate TikTok ban
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Project Texas is meant to soften demands made by the Biden administration earlier this month.(opens in new tab): If TikTok’s Chinese owners do not sell their stake in the app to a US company, the app will be banned.
Project Texas will reorganize much of TikTok’s enterprise division so that US user data is stored by a US company (Oracle) based in a US city (Austin, Texas).(opens in new tab)). according to texas monthly(opens in new tab), Project Texas operations are overseen by an internal committee approved by the US government called TikTok US Data Security. Project Texas essentially acts as a firewall, preventing the Chinese government from accessing user data in the United States and keeping Oracle in control of everything.
Brooke Overwetter, TikTok’s head of policy, said, “The way we’ve put this plan together and the level of external oversight we’ve put in place is to ensure that you don’t have to take my word or Oracle’s word for it. is aimed at,” he said.communication, said texas monthly“There will be multiple layers of oversight from multiple federal agencies, multiple external consultants, security vendors, and auditors.”
The initiative began rolling out in July 2022, but Beijing-based TikTok employees will continue to have access to U.S. user data until Project Texas is completed. At a congressional hearing, Mr. Chu said he did not know when Project Texas would be completed, but promised it was “going pretty well.”
Far from perfect, Chu created Project Texas as a solution to all the problems that were thrown at him over and over again through the hearings. He’ll admit that something isn’t ideal right now, but the project he’ll put under Texas — an answer that legislators didn’t find particularly useful. Rogers called Project Texas a “marketing plan.” Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone called it “simply unacceptable.” Republican Rep. Bob Latta said he didn’t think the project would be particularly “helpful” in practice.
Despite bipartisan consensus that Project Texas is not a one-size-fits-all solution, Chew remains steadfast.
“I think we designed Project Texas to protect the interests of our US users and to move forward here in the US,” said Chew. “Again, this is a protection of American data stored on American soil by an American company controlled by Americans.”
The hearing revealed that the United States wants to ban TikTok, and TikTok sees Project Texas as a way out of that ban. However, it’s still unclear if the project will be banned and rendered useless before it’s fully operational, or if US lawmakers will give social media platforms more time and leniency.
