TikTok Hires New Public Policy Chief for the Americas — As ‘TikTok USA’ Edges Oh-So-Close to Reality

TikTok names former Boeing vice president of government affairs Ziad Ojakli as the platform’s head of public policy for the Americas.

As TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance works to complete the deal to separate its U.S. assets, TikTok has named former Boeing government affairs vice president Ziad Ojakli as its head of public policy for the Americas.

The news comes as the company works to sell around 80% of its stake in TikTok’s U.S. assets to a consortium of U.S. and global investors to meet the national security requirements laid out in a 2024 Biden-era law. President Trump signed his most recent executive order on the matter in September, extending the deadline until late January by which to complete the deal.

Ojakli will begin his new role on December 1, according to a memo from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew announcing the hire. That memo also noted that the company’s current public policy chief, Michael Beckerman, announced in April that he planned to leave his role and move into global advisory. Beckerman, notably, was a key figure in TikTok’s fight to combat a U.S. federal ban.

“Ziad brings vast experience from his roles in public service and as a leader at global, industry-leading companies,” said Chew. “I am confident he will continue to drive our teams in our mission to become the most trusted platform through proactive outreach, education, and transparency.”

Meanwhile, concerns remain surrounding a licensing agreement for use of the all-important TikTok algorithm. Representative John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China, said last month that a licensing agreement would evoke “serious concerns.”

Democratic Senator Ed Markey raised questions about the deal again this week, noting that the White House has not answered many questions about the deal, and has also not followed the 2024 law. In a letter addressed to Trump on Monday, Markey said both Congress and the American people need to understand the terms and status of the deal.

“Your repeated unlawful extensions of the divestment deadline and vague comments about the deal raise significant questions about whether you have been able to secure an agreement that keeps TikTok online and addresses the national security concerns posed by ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok,” Markey wrote.

Trump has stated that TikTok’s algorithm would be retrained and monitored by the U.S. company’s security partners. But Markey even questioned whether China had approved the deal, as radio silence from ByteDance proliferated, despite administration remarks insisting the deal was a go.

“If TikTok U.S. is licensing the algorithm from ByteDance and retraining it, is this a one-time transfer of the source code or does TikTok U.S. have to renew it at regular intervals?” Markey asked. “Will any changes to the algorithm by ByteDance affect the algorithm that is licensed to TikTok U.S.?”

A group of investors, including Oracle and private-equity firm Silver Lake, will take up a roughly 50% stake in TikTok U.S., while a group of existing shareholders in ByteDance will hold a roughly 30% stake. ByteDance itself would hold less than a 20% stake in TikTok U.S. in order to comply with requirements laid out in the 2024 law.