TikTok launches 'Project Texas' to address security concerns

Short-video app TikTok is working on an initiative called "Project Texas" to address the US government's concerns about data security, its CEO said on Wednesday.

Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, said the project is designed to isolate the sensitive data of its US users so only staff in the US can access it. The move is part of the company's broader push to beef up data management and to ease US officials' concerns about data security.

The effort is "extremely difficult and expensive to build," Chew said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Wednesday.

"It's unprecedented. No company has attempted this," Chew said. "I'm very confident that through the detailed discussions that we're going to have, we will come up with a solution that will reasonably address the national security concerns."

Chew's comments came after US FBI Director Chris Wray alleged on Tuesday the US operations of Chinese-owned TikTok raise national security concerns, according to foreign media reports.

In response to the report, on Wednesday China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a news conference in Beijing the US is spreading false information and using it as an excuse to suppress Chinese enterprises, which has become a common practice of the US.

China firmly opposes such attempts and hopes the US will take a more responsible approach, and earnestly respect and abide by fair, open and non-discriminatory international rules, Mao said.