Chennai: TikTok, which is facing a huge crisis after India banned it along with other Chinese apps, is reportedly mulling shifting its headquarters out of China and going for a rejig.
Senior executives at ByteDance, TikTok’s parent firm, are discussing options including creating a new management board for TikTok or establishing a headquarters for the app outside of China to distance the app’s operations from China, said a report in the Wall Street Journal.
“As we consider the best path forward, ByteDance is evaluating changes to the corporate structure of its TikTok business,” CNN Business quoted a company spokesperson in its report.
“We remain fully committed to protecting our users’ privacy and security as we build a platform that inspires creativity and brings joy for hundreds of millions of people around the world. We will move forward in the best interest of our users, employees, artists, creators, partners, and policymakers,” added the spokesperson.
TikTok currently does not have its own headquarters separate from Bytedance, which was founded in China and is incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
TikTok is considering a number of locations for a global base. Its five largest offices are in Los Angeles, New York, London, Dublin and Singapore.
It is to be noted that the US is keen on towing the India government’s line of banning TikTok.