BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - TikTok's Kevin Mayer, who took charge as Chief Executive Officer on June 1, has resigned amid the threat of its proposed ban by the U.S. President Donald Trump, reports said citing an internal letter. TikTok General Manager Vanessa Pappas will replace Mayer on an interim basis.
Mayer's resignation comes as the popular Chinese video-sharing mobile app has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration against the ban. Mayer, a former Disney executive, reportedly said, '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. 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 took charge as TikTok CEO as well as the Chief Operating Officer of its China-based parent, ByteDance in June, and was reporting directly to the company's founder and CEO Yiming Zhang. Prior to that, he was with Disney for many years, most recently as its Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International.
Soon after Mayer assumed the office, TikTok was banned by India citing threat to national security. The company also decided to exit Hong Kong market after China established a new national security law for the semi-autonomous city.
Meanwhile, on August 6 Trump signed the Executive Order to ban TikTok, along with another Chinese firm WeChat, citing a threat to national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. The ban will come into effect in 45 days unless it sold its American assets to a domestic company. There are reports that major U.S. tech firms Microsoft, Twitter and Oracle are in the race to buy TikTok's U.S operations.
Following these developments, TikTok early this week filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Administration's decision, stating that it strongly disagrees with the allegation that the company is a national security threat.
According to the firm, 100 million Americans turn to TikTok at present, and it has more than 1,500 employees across the country. The company has also planned 10,000 more jobs in the country.
In its filing, TikTok noted its extraordinary measures to protect the privacy and security of its U.S. user data, in response to Trump's accusation that there is a speculative possibility that the application could be manipulated by the Chinese government.
The company also noted then that its key personnel, including CEO, Global Chief Security Officer, and General Counsel, are all Americans based in the United States, and therefore are not subject to Chinese law.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX