Technology|TikTok’s C.E.O. Navigates the Limits of His Power
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Shou Zi Chew, a longtime investor and former executive at Xiaomi, was appointed chief executive of TikTok in May 2021.Credit...Philip Fong/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT
TikTok recently tried to tamp down concerns from U.S. lawmakers that it poses a national security threat because it is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance. The viral video app insisted it had an arm’s-length relationship with ByteDance and that its own executive was in charge.
“TikTok is led by its own global C.E.O., Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean based in Singapore,” TikTok wrote in a June letter to U.S. lawmakers.
But in fact, Mr. Chew’s decision-making power over TikTok is limited, according to 12 former TikTok and ByteDance employees and executives.
Decisions about the service — including moves to emphasize livestreaming and shopping on TikTok — are made by Zhang Yiming, ByteDance’s founder, as well as by a top ByteDance strategy executive and the head of TikTok’s research and development team, said the people, who declined to be identified for fear of reprisals. TikTok’s growth and strategy, which are led by ByteDance teams, report not to Mr. Chew but to ByteDance’s office in Beijing, they said.
The arrangements illustrate the tightrope that Mr. Chew, 39, walks as the head of one of the world’s most popular social apps. Since being appointed TikTok’s chief executive in May 2021, he has had to navigate presenting himself to the West as the autonomous leader of a global service while fulfilling the demands of the app’s Chinese parent.
Image
Advertisem*nt
SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT
