TikTok’s global chief security officer (CSO), Roland Cloutier, who has been with TikTok since 2020, is stepping down and assuming an advisory role, with TikTok’s head of security risk, vendor, and client assurance, Kim Albarella, temporarily taking over the position. The company is also moving its US data to Oracle servers.
In the memo, Cloutier writes: “With our recent announcement about data management changes in the US, it’s time for me to transition from my role as Global Chief Security Officer into a strategic advisory role focusing on the business impact of security and trust programs, working directly with Shou, Dingkun and other senior leaders.”
The shift in server locations comes amid mounting user concerns that their data is not safe in China, where ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is located. Regarding the shift, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and ByteDance vice president of technology Dingkun Hong say the change comes as a way to “minimize concerns about the security of user data in the US,” but also “changes the scope of the Global Chief Security Officer (CSO) role.”
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