In a bid to firefight everything that is currently going wrong with Tiktok, its parent Bytedance is apparently pulling all stops to douse the fire, including plans to form a new corporate structure. According to a WSJ report, while a new corporate structure is being considered, the company is also planning a new headquarters, outside of China. Meanwhile, Tiktok also published its second transparency report today.
TikTok is living through its worst nightmare, as it continues to lose markets. Due to suspected ties with the Chinese government, TikTok has been banned from its larges overseas userbase India, with U.S. and Australia considering drastic measures along similar lines. Thus, the company wants to completely shake the board and start anew, cutting all ties with China, the root of all its problems.
As a result, TikTok might establish a headquarter outside of China so as to clear itself of all suspicions. In fact, Wall Street Journal reports that an overseas headquarter might be ready by the end of the year, with Singapore, London and Dublin being considered as possible locations.
While the company does not have a global headquarters as of yet, CEO Kevin Mayer is based in Los Angeles, which is the closest the company has to an overseas facility.
Moreover, senior executives are also considering a revamp of the management board, so one can expect a new TikTok in some days. Who knows, maybe Instagram Reels might witness the return of the champion in the Indian market, crushing all its dreams.
TikTok has often been considered a showcase of acting, singing, dance, and comedy for people of all ages. However, due to its Chinese origin, the app received a lot of criticism, especially from the U.S. TikTok has made numerous efforts to convey that it has not ceded to any data requests by the Chinese government, nor has the app been used to spy on the users. Governments however aren’t too convinced, specially when most cyber cells have accused the app for the same.
Interestingly, TikTok published its second transparency report today, much like most American social media companies do. In the report, TikTok said it received more than 500 total legal demands including emergency requests from the governments in the first half of 2020, which is up 67% than the previous half. The company also reported that it has received 45 government demands to remove contents.
Of course, China is not a part of the report, and for good reason. The app simply isn’t available in the country. However, ByteDance hasn’t forgotten about its homeland, and does operate Douyin, a TikTok like app in the region.
TikTok Spokesperson Hilary McQuaide told the media, “We do not and have not removed any content at the request of the Chinese government, and would not if asked. TikTok also listed 11 cities around the world (none in china!), looking at the moderation of content. And that it does not allow Chinese moderators to handle TikTok content.”
TikTok has to go a long way before convincing critics about data privacy and data moderation. TikTok’s privacy policy says that the user data can be accessed by ByteDance and other affiliate companies, and while the company is striving hard to put an American face to the company in order to cut its roots in China, we don’t think it will be enough.
