TikTok has cycled through two chief executives in its bid to placate Washington. The first, Disney executive Kevin Mayer, lasted only a few months. Successor Chew Shou Zi has stuck around for three years. But his failure to convince US lawmakers that the app is not a security threat could put a time limit on his tenure. It could also trigger further app bans.
A US bill signed into law this month, part of a package that includes aid for Ukraine, means TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has until early 2025 to sell the video app to a US company or face a ban from app stores and internet providers. The bill’s language suggests the ban could be extended. It points to threats from any operated by “foreign adversary controlled applications”.
TikTok’s efforts to quell concerns have been expensive. However Project Texas, a $1.5bn initiative to keep US data on home soil, addresses only part of the problem. Politicians also worry about the influence Beijing could wield over the app’s content.