TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew said on Tuesday that US user numbers had soared to 150 million, almost half the total population, as he prepared for a showdown at the US Congress on the Chinese-owned site's future.
Mr Chew will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday where he is set to face a barrage of questions over allegations by both Republicans and Democrats that the app is beholden to the Communist Party in Beijing.
The company has also confirmed reports that the White House gave TikTok an ultimatum to part ways with its Chinese owners or face a US ban.
"Today, I'm super excited to announce that more than 150 million Americans are on TikTok. That's almost half of the US coming to TikTok to connect, to create, to share, to learn or just to have some fun," Mr Chew said in a TikTok post.
This was up from TikTok's previous measure in 2020 that 100 million US users came to the video-sharing site every month, which already made it one of the most popular.
Mr Chew also asked the app's users to "let me know in the comments what you want your elected representatives to know about what you love about TikTok".
"Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok. Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you," Mr Chew said.
He said he would share with Congress "all that we're doing to protect Americans using the app", in a reference to a proposal called Project Texas that would guarantee a special handling for the data of US users.
TikTok has consistently denied sharing data with Chinese officials and says it has been working with the US authorities for more than two years to address national security concerns.
Time spent by US users on TikTok has surpassed that spent on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and it is closing in on streaming titan Netflix, according to market tracker Insider Intelligence.
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
1st Test July 26-30 in Galle
2nd Test August 3-7 in Colombo
3rd Test August 12-16 in Pallekele
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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ETFs explained
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There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
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Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
