TikTok To Bring in New Head of Global Trust and Safety

On Tuesday, TikTok announced that it would be getting a new leader for its global trust and safety unit, according to CNN.

Shou Chew, CEO of the social media giant, told employees in an internal memo that Cormac Keenan, who has led the trust and safety unit for the company since 2020, will be stepping back into a strategic advisory role working with TikTok’s senior executive team. In addition, Keenan will take on a role on the board of the company’s Irish entity.

After Keenan’s transition, TikTok’s global trust and safety unit will be taken over by Adam Presser, who is currently the firm’s head of operations based in Los Angeles. However, the company assures that TikTok’s trust and safety staff will otherwise remain as is.

In the memo to employees, Chew said, “I want to take this opportunity to personally thank Cormac on behalf of all of us, for his many critical contributions in making TikTok a safe space for creativity and expression.”

Additionally, on Tuesday, Chew disclosed that two more TikTok senior leaders based in Europe are departing from the company entirely. Theo Bertram, serving as vice president of government relations and public policy in Europe, and Rich Waterworth, who has led content efforts in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region as general manager of operations, will be leaving to pursue other opportunities.

These leadership changes come into place as the short-form video-hosting giant faces criticism in the U.S., Europe, and other countries around the world over the safety and security of its platform.

Last month, Chew and other leaders from major social media firms testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee about youth safety on their platforms. Chew faced questioning regarding the platform’s investments in trust and safety, as well as its affiliation with its Chinese parent company ByteDance. This association raised national security concerns in the U.S. and other regions worldwide.

At the hearing, Chew highlighted that the company aims to invest $2 billion in trust and safety efforts in 2024.

While Keenan led TikTok’s trust and safety unit, he “oversaw the rollout of a number of new features and policies aimed at addressing such concerns.” For example, the company added default screen time limits for teenage users, parental controls allowing them to mute their child’s notifications, and adjustments to the app’s algorithms to minimize the repetition of videos on potentially sensitive and harmful topics, such as sadness and dieting.