With President Donald Trump set to ban TikTok in the United States, Kevin Mayer who has been the company CEO just two months in the job has chosen to quit.
President Donald Trump has on several occassions stated that the Chinese company was a threat to the national security of the United States of America. President Trump’s executive order prohibits transactions with TikTok’s owner ByteDance from mid-September. Officials in Washington are concerned that TikTok could pass American users’ data to the Chinese government
With that said, TikTok was given 90 days by president Donald Trump to be sold off to an American firm and already Microsoft were believed to be leading the race to buy out the Chinese company. Currently, TiTok is owned by ByteDance
“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, 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,” Mr Mayer said in a letter to employees.
“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,” Mr Mayer added.
Both TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat face bans in the US as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing over a wide range of issues including national security concerns about Chinese tech firms.
“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,” a spokesman for TikTok said.
Also, read: Google Deletes Millions of Negative Reviews of TikTok After App’s Ratings Fell to 1.2
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