A former TikTok executive suing the platform alleged Monday that ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, has far more extensive control over the social media platform than it has claimed—as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew fights back against a potential ban on TikTok by insisting it is not beholden to China.
Several ByteDance executives control TikTok functions and day-to-day operations such as marketing, branding, complaint procedures, budget allocations, staffing and termination decisions, Puris alleged, adding those executives, not Chew, are “TikTok’s real decision makers,” and Chew is primarily a “conduit” for them.
The lawsuit also claims an unnamed U.S.-based senior leader within TikTok messaged Puris after her termination and said Chinese-based control of the platform has gotten “more extreme” since Puris’s firing, with the suit citing an ostensible message from the senior leader who said “they put in leaders that dictate the way they want out of China.”Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines.