Mr. Zhang added that ByteDance and TikTok were moving swiftly to resolve its issues in the United States and India, where the app was banned in June. “I cannot get into details at this point, but I can assure you that we are developing solutions that will be in the interest of users, creators, partners and employees,” he said.
In a statement, TikTok said, “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.”
Vanessa Pappas, general manager of TikTok in North America, will take over as the interim global head of the company.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Financial Times earlier reported Mr. Mayer’s resignation.
Mr. Mayer, who was the top streaming executive at Walt Disney Company, joined TikTok in May not only as its chief executive, but also as the chief operating officer of ByteDance. In an interview at the time, Mr. Mayer said he had left Disney for TikTok because “the magnitude of this opportunity was just something I couldn’t pass up.”
TikTok has become increasingly popular in the United States and in other countries like India, where teenagers and twentysomethings use it to create and share videos. In the United States alone, TikTok has said it has more than 100 million users. In total, TikTok’s app has been downloaded about 1.9 billion times worldwide, according to Sensor Tower, an app data firm.
Mr. Mayer’s hiring was part of an effort by TikTok to bring on more American executives as Washington’s scrutiny of the app grew. TikTok also hired more employees in Los Angeles, New York and more than a dozen other places in the United States. The company has said it planned to add over 10,000 new jobs in the country.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/technology/tiktok-kevin-mayer-resign.html
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.