SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhang Yiming will step down as chief govt of TikTok-owner ByteDance, handing over to university roommate, prolonged-time colleague and latest human resources head Liang Rubo.
Zhang, 38, grew to change into ByteDance genuine into a social media powerhouse which has also had many brushes with global regulators.
Here's a timeline of key events in the emergence of ByteDance and TikTok.
2012 - Zhang Yiming founds ByteDance in Beijing.
2016 - Launches Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
2017 - ByteDance launches TikTok. Moreover acquires U.S. video app Flipgram and lip-syncing app Musical.ly.
July 2018 - Indonesia bans TikTok for substandard relate, lifting the ban a week later after it agrees to know all “destructive relate” and birth an office in the country.
Aug. 2018 - ByteDance integrates Musical.ly into TikTok. TikTok became as soon as at the starting up in kind in Asia and Musical.ly in the Americas and Europe.
2019
Feb 27. - TikTok surpasses 1 billion downloads globally. On the identical day, the U.S. fines it over Musical.ly’s illegal sequence of private recordsdata from minors.
April 3 - A stutter court docket in India asks the federal government to ban TikTok, which it says encourages pornography. A temporary ban lasts two weeks.
Nov. 1 - U.S. begins review of TikTok’s Musical.ly obtain.
2020
April 29 - TikTok hits 2 billion downloads globally.
Might well simply 18 - TikTok appoints ex-Walt Disney streaming chief Kevin Mayer as CEO. He quits after three months.
June 10 - EU regulators originate as a lot as search TikTok’s practices after the Netherlands opened investigation into its policies to provide protection to children’s recordsdata.
June 29 - India bans TikTok and many various Chinese apps over security considerations after a lethal border war with China.
July 7 - Donald Trump, then U.S. President, suggests a TikTok ban to punish China for the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 20 - Australia scrutinises TikTok for risks of doable abroad interference, sources teach. Days later Australia says it has realized no evidence to conceal it will also soundless restrict TikTok.
July 29 - Japan’s ruling event urges government to know steps to limit TikTok use, concerned that particular person recordsdata may possibly well well end up in Chinese government fingers, public broadcaster NHK experiences.
July 31 - Trump says he plans to ban TikTok in the US within 24 hours. He then components govt sing banning transactions with TikTok and ByteDance, starting in 45 days.
Aug. 2 - Microsoft announces it is some distance exploring a take hang of of TikTok’s U.S., Canadian, Australian and New Zealand companies and products.
Aug. 8 - Sources teach Twitter held preliminary negotiations about an acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Aug. 12 - ByteDance says is in talks with India’s Reliance for an funding in TikTok.
Aug. 14 - Trump orders ByteDance to divest its passion in TikTok’s U.S. operations within 90 days.
Aug. 18 - Oracle joins some ByteDance traders in pursuing a interpret for TikTok’s operations in North The United States, Australia and New Zealand, sources teach.
Aug. 20 - TikTok gets rid of 380,000 movies in the U.S. for violating loathe speech policy.
Aug. 23 - TikTok sues the U.S. administration over Trump’s govt sing banning transactions with the app.
Aug. 27 - Walmart says it is some distance becoming a member of Microsoft in a interpret for TikTok’s U.S. resources.
Sept. 14 - ByteDance picks Oracle over Microsoft as its accomplice in a interpret to defend TikTok working in the US.
Sept. 17 - ByteDance says China will want to approve its proposed take care of Oracle for its TikTok app.
Sept. 17 - ByteDance plans a U.S. IPO of TikTok World, a fresh company that can characteristic the video app, may possibly well well soundless its take care of Oracle in finding cleared by the U.S. government, sources teach.
Sept. 18 - Trump administration says it would ban WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores from Sept. 21.
Sept. 20 - Trump says he has blessed Oracle’s take care of TikTok, with Walmart taking a 7.5% stake in TikTok World.
Sept. 21 - ByteDance and Oracle explain conflicting statements over the terms of the settlement.
Sept. 27 - U.S. ponder in quick blocks Trump sing to bar Apple and Google from offering TikTok for in finding.
Oct. 9 - Pakistan blocks TikTok for failing to filter out low relate, lifting the ban 10 days later after TikTok agrees to realistic accounts.
Oct. 26 - ByteDance is in talks with funding banks to list Douyin in Hong Kong, sources teach.
Nov. 5 - ByteDance is in early talks to do away with a fresh round of financing that can cost it at $180 billion, sources teach.
Nov. 10 - Nov. 26 - ByteDance challenges Trump’s sing to divest TikTok, and is granted extensions.
2021
Jan. 19 - ByteDance launches cellular fee carrier Douyin Pay in China.
Jan. 27 - ByteDance to diminish its 2,000-plus India team.
Feb. 2 - Douyin sues Tencent for monopolistic behaviour, intensifying an ongoing feud between the two.
March 5 - ByteDance engaged on a Clubhouse-like app for China, sources teach.
March 11 - Pakistan blocks TikTok any other time, lifting curbs on April 16.
March 17 - TikTok may possibly well well originate a community-chat feature in 2021, sources teach.
March 22 - ByteDance agrees to acquire Moonton, in a deal that sources teach values the gaming studio at around $4 billion. A pair of weeks later it buys C4games.
March 24 - ByteDance hires Xiaomi govt Shouzi Chew for newly-created chief finance officer role.
April 23 - ByteDance says has no approaching plans for an IPO.
April 30 - TikTok says Shouzi Chew will be its fresh CEO.
Reporting by Yingzhi Yang and Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Alexander Smith