TikTok CEO resigns amid US pressure to sell video app

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned Thursday amid US pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app, which the White House says is a security risk.

In a letter to employees, Mayer said that his decision to leave comes after the “political environment has sharply changed”.

His resignation follows President Donald Trump’s order to ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells its US operations to an American company within 90 days.

“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,” he said in the letter. “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.”