TikTok’s chief executive Kevin Mayer has resigned after only four months in the post, amid US pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app.
Mayer wrote that his decision came after the “political environment had sharply changed” in a letter to employees, adding “I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for.
“Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company.”
Mayer, who only joined TikTok as CEO in May, resigned following US President Trump’s order of a ban on the social media app.
This ban is to imposed unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells its US operations to an American company within 90 days, as the White House sees the short-form video app to be a risk to national security.
RELATED: TikTok to open new £375m data centre in Ireland
TikTok said it respected Mr Mayer’s decision, writing in a statement:
“We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision.
“We thank him for his time at the company and wish him well.”
ByteDance is currently in talks with Microsoft for the US firm to buy TikTok’s US operations. Prior to joining TikTok, Mayer was an executive for Disney.
Kevin Mayer, seen here during his time at Disney in 2015 (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
Source: The Irish News
