Head of Trust & Safety at TikTok U.S., Suzy Loftus, talks to Cheddar about the app's security. Plus, is a ban really going to happen? Watch!
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00:00As you might imagine, the majority of TikTok users are ages 18 to 24,
00:05but more than 15 million Americans are over the age of 50,
00:10also using the popular social media app.
00:13Despite every generation being in on TikTok, the federal government is not.
00:18And as a result, 170 million Americans may have to soon look elsewhere
00:23for recipes, dances, book reviews, trends, sports highlights, product reviews,
00:28just to mention a few.
00:29Susie Loftus is the head of trust and safety for TikTok US and joins us now.
00:34Susie, welcome to you.
00:36What is the status of the federal ban on TikTok,
00:40and do you believe TikTok will eventually win out?
00:44I do.
00:45As you said, 170 million Americans find community and discover and love TikTok,
00:53and we are deeply committed to providing a safe and secure experience for them.
00:57The ban itself, we're challenging it in the courts.
01:00We believe the law and the facts are on our side, that it's unconstitutional.
01:05So while that plays out, we're continuing to ensure that we have a safe and secure experience.
01:10So we partner with Oracle, a third-party American company,
01:13to make sure that we're innovating and really setting industry standards
01:17in terms of data privacy, and that's what we can focus on.
01:20I do want to return to that in a moment.
01:22I hear wonder, is a ban even possible if the app is currently on your device?
01:29Well, we live in a world where we're building a future for the 170 million Americans,
01:34hoping that we don't have to worry about that eventuality.
01:38What we're worried about today is making sure that teens and parents have the tools they need
01:43to make sure they're having a safe experience on TikTok, which is definitely the focus.
01:47But it can't actually be banned, right?
01:50They could just ban you from updating it in the app store just logistically.
01:55That's correct. That's correct.
01:58Okay. All right. So you know as well as I do, Republicans and Democrats can't agree that the sky is blue.
02:04Yet the Senate voted 79-18 in favor of a ban.
02:09The FBI director, Chris Wray, said the Chinese government could compromise American devices
02:14through TikTok software. Is that true or false?
02:19The focus on data security is really important, and it's not unique to our app.
02:25Making sure that Americans have a safe and secure experience is something that is an issue for every app.
02:32And what I can say about our investments at TikTok is we have made unprecedented and voluntary commitments
02:39and investments in making sure Americans have a safe and secure experience.
02:45What that looks like is partnering with a third party, American company Oracle,
02:50to store all U.S. protected user data for over the last year in the Oracle cloud.
02:55We also have safeguards to make sure that our For You feed and recommendation system is free from foreign interference.
03:02So I think the facts will lay out that TikTok is actually an industry-leading effort that we've undertaken
03:08to make sure that Americans have a safe experience.
03:11We're challenging the ban in the courts so that we can make sure that TikTok remains a thriving community
03:15for the half of America who loves us.
03:18So, Susie, when Representative Michael McCaul, who's the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
03:22says, quote, this app is a spy balloon in Americans' phones used to surveil and exploit Americans' personal information,
03:31you say what to the congressman?
03:34There's a lot of misinformation, and what I say is when we focus on the facts and look at the efforts
03:40that we've taken to protect the U.S. experience on TikTok,
03:45I think the facts show that we've made unprecedented and voluntary steps to actually protect U.S. user data,
03:51and it's something that is going to lead this industry as we go forward.
03:55Okay. Most importantly, what do you say to the millions of parents that are concerned about the privacy
04:01of their TikTok-obsessed kids? You yourself have three children.
04:06That's right. I have two of my kids are on TikTok.
04:09What we're announcing today is a partnership that we did with the Family Online Institute
04:14to create a digital safety partnership for families, which gives parents tools they need
04:20to really understand the privacy settings of many different apps, but in particular for TikTok, how to use them.
04:27Parents have told us that they want simple, straightforward support in making sure that their teen is safe online.
04:34So this partnership is, it's an agreement that you can sit at your kitchen table with your teen and go over,
04:41what are the digital boundaries that make sense for your family?
04:44What are the safety tools that you want to make sure your teen uses?
04:48Here at TikTok, we have great safety features, and we really want to support parents in using them.
04:53Things like family pairing. As you mentioned, I have two teens on TikTok.
04:58My account is paired with their account, and I have the ability to set the features that make sense for them.
05:05Anybody under 18 on TikTok is automatically in a default 60-minute time limit.
05:12But through family pairing, I can change that for what makes sense for my teen.
05:16So we have a number of safety features that this campaign is really about making sure parents understand and can use for their teens.
05:23I think my kids are over that time limit probably right now, probably by about 10 a.m. usual most days.
05:30All right, so the government has insisted on a divestiture or a sale to a U.S. buyer if that ban goes through.
05:38Would that ever be acceptable to ByteDance, your parent company?
05:42So the ban itself, it's a ban bill.
05:45So it really would result in the end of TikTok as we know it here in the U.S.
05:51And so it's really dressed up as anything else.
05:54What it results in is a devastating outcome for half of America, who, as you said, loves and finds community and book recommendations and discovery on TikTok.
06:05Not to mention the 7 million businesses who would be devastated.
06:09You mentioned what you're doing to protect kids' data.
06:12What about integrity and preventing misinformation ahead of this pivotal U.S. presidential election?
06:19That's right. You know, heading into elections, there are really important civic conversations in communities.
06:25And at TikTok, in the three years that we have been operational, we've seen over 150 elections in places all around the world.
06:33And so what it really is about is making sure that when people come to TikTok, they can trust what they're seeing.
06:40And so we have specialized moderators who do look at making sure that misinformation is not proliferating.
06:47We have an election center, so people who are coming to our app can use it with a partner that we have called Democracy Works
06:54to really identify verified, truthful information about the voting process and making sure that that information is accurate and something that they can rely on.
07:03Suzy, what does it say to you that President Biden and both candidates, Vice President Harris and former President Trump, all use TikTok to varying degrees?
07:11Does that make you more comfortable with the future?
07:15Well, I think, as we've said, 170 million Americans love our app and find community.
07:20So it's not surprising at all that a number of newer users are joining us.
07:26What we stay focused on is making sure that TikTok is a thriving, entertaining, joyful community and that it's safe.
07:33And that's really about making sure today that teens and parents both understand all the safety features
07:39and really recognize they have a critical role in customizing their experience on TikTok.
07:44Of course, TikTok is not alone at this point because the CEO of encrypted app Telegram was recently arrested in Paris.
07:50Elon Musk's ex has now been banned in Brazil, where, by the way, the NFL plays on Friday night.
07:56What are the implications of these moves against social media platforms in your estimation?
08:01Well, what I can say is the investment that TikTok is making in trust and safety is unprecedented.
08:08So while we're seeing changes in other platforms and their efforts to create safety,
08:13what we're really focused on is the two billion dollar investment that we're making in 2024 alone.
08:19I work with 40,000 people across the globe to make sure that TikTok is a safe and secure experience.
08:26So what I can tell you is that at TikTok, we really recognize that in order to have the fun, enjoy, be inspired, you need to feel safe.
08:34And that's what we invest in.
08:36And finally, you mentioned the amount of small businesses who rely on your social media platform.
08:42Do you have any estimations on the impact of the economy if, in fact, a ban were put in place?
08:48Yes, we've actually done economic impact reports.
08:51And state by state, there are clear investments of thousands of jobs that have been created,
08:58millions of dollars that have been pumped into the GDP state by state.
09:03So I think what we found is Americans are really using this to connect, to discover,
09:08and to allow amazing products and small businesses to have a platform like no other that has been revolutionary.
09:15We've had, you know, small businesses who've talked about increasing their sales tenfold.
09:20We've had small businesses say they appeared on TV shows,
09:24but it was once they got on TikTok Shop that they had to double the size of their warehouse.
09:29We've had one woman I met in Arizona talked about she was able to retire her husband.
09:35He left his job to join her business and really, you know, pursue their passion.
09:42So there is a huge economic impact that has happened here.
09:46And something that Americans really love about TikTok is being able to also share their businesses.
09:51All right. We'd love to have you back as this case continues to evolve and move its way through the courts.
09:56Our thanks to Susie Loftis, head of trust and safety at TikTok U.S. Thanks so much.
10:01Thanks for having us.