ByteDance AI research head to leave as pressure mounts on TikTok

Beijing-based ByteDance said on Tuesday the head of its artificial intelligence lab will leave the company, as its short-video app TikTok faces US scrutiny over security and privacy issues.

Ma Wei-Ying joined ByteDance from Microsoft to become a vice president and head of the AI lab in 2017.

His departure comes as TikTok faces regulatory challenges across the globe, and a potential ban by the US government over suspicions Beijing could force its Chinese owner to turn over user data.

“We are extremely grateful to Wei-Ying for his important contribution to ByteDance,” a ByteDance spokeswoman said.