By Zen Soo
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned Thursday amid U.S. pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app, which the White House says is a security risk.
In a letter to employees, Mayer said that his decision to leave comes after the "political environment has sharply changed."
His resignation follows President Donald Trump's order to ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells its U.S. operations to an American company within 90 days.
"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," he said in the letter. "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."
Bytedance is currently in talks with Microsoft for the U.S. firm to buy TikTok's U.S. operations.
Mayer, a former Disney executive, joined TikTok as CEO in May.
TikTok thanked Mayer.
"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," the company said in a statement.
ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, then bought Musical.ly, a video service popular with teens in the U.S. and Europe, and combined the two. A twin service, Douyin, is available for Chinese users.
TikTok gained immense popularity via its fun, goofy videos and ease of use, and has hundreds of millions of users globally.
But its Chinese ownership has raised concerns about potential censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government, and the risk Beijing may access user data.
Earlier this month, Trump ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of consumer apps TikTok and WeChat as the U.S. heightens scrutiny of Chinese technology companies, citing concerns that they may pose a threat to national security.
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
Adobe and Figma called off their $20 million merger, Southwest Airlines gets fined, Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel and oil and gas prices surge after a pause in shipments.
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
Japan's Nippon steel is buying U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a settlement over a 2022 holiday season disaster that saw the airline cancel thousands of flights and leave millions of people stranded.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Stocks opened slightly higher after Monday's opening bell after several weeks of gains as the year closes out.
