TikTok Executive Who Condemned Uyghur Genocide Leaves Role
A TikTok executive who condemned the genocide being carried out against the Uyghur Muslim minority in the People’s Republic of China has resigned her position, according to Axios’s Sara Fischer.
“COO Vanessa Pappas ‘has decided to step down to refocus on their entrepreneurial passions,’ CEO Shou Chew said in a statement,” Fischer announced on Twitter. Earlier this year, Pappas condemned the Uyghur genocide in an unusual moment for an employee of the Chinese-owned company.
Yes
— V Pappas (@v_ness) March 23, 2023
Pappas has been one of the faces of the controversial social media platform in the U.S. and has assured Congress that “there are strict access controls around the data that is accessed in the United States,” despite claims to the contrary from an ex-employee of TikTok’s parent company.
Pappas’s acknowledgement of the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people came on the same day as — and marked a sharp contrast with — Chew’s widely panned testimony before Congress in March.
In an exchange with Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) Chew took pains to avoid acknowledging the persecution of the Uyghurs:
LESKO: Do you agree that the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population?
CHEW: Congresswoman, if you use our app and you open it, you will find our users, who give all sorts of content on-
LESKO: That’s not my question. My question is: Do you agree that the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population?
CHEW: Well, it’s deeply concerning to hear about all accounts of human rights abuse, my role here is to explain what our platform does-
LESKO: I think you’re being pretty evasive. It’s pretty easy question: Do you agree that the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population?
CHEW: Congresswoman, I’m here to describe TikTok and what we do as a platform. And as a platform, we allow our users to freely express themselves on this issue and any other issue that matters to them.
LESKO: Well, you didn’t answer the question.
Chew said that Pappas will remain a strategic advisor to the company.
