Three months ago, TikTok boasted its new CEO, hired directly from Disney, after the successful launch of the Disney + streaming platform. Kevin Mayer has experience in developing and running online platforms, but the latest issues facing the company that recently hired him seem to have scared him more than he expected when he accepted the role. Thus, he announced his resignation, even citing the tense situation between China and the USA.
Kevin Mayer has been CEO of TikTok since May
The TikTok platform is developed by the Chinese company ByteDance. As it is a Chinese company, the US authorities say that it can collect data about US citizens and provide it to the Chinese authorities, so allowing it to operate in the country is a threat to national security. Donald Trump, the president of America, thus offered a 90-day term to ByteDance to sell TikTok operations to an American company, if they want to keep the platform active in the USA.
Companies such as Microsoft and Oracle have shown interest in the acquisition, but in the meantime, TikTok is suing US authorities.
Kevin Mayer, on the other hand, the CEO of TikTok announced to his employers that he is retiring from this position. The reason, according to the New York Times, is the pressure from the American authorities for the ties it has with China from this position. The publication says that Mayer did not expect TikTok to be at the center of tensions between China and the US and that this is not why he accepted this role.
TikTok provided a statement to TechCrunch through its representatives:
“We notice that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed the role that Kevin would have had in the next period and we fully respect his decision. We thank the company for their time and wish them all the best. ”