TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned less than three months after taking the helm, following mounting pressure from the US government for it to split from parent company ByteDance due to national security concerns, The New York Times reported.

Mayer joined ByteDance as COO on 1 June, an appointment including the top post at TikTok. He told the newspaper a “sharply changed” political situation prompted him to reflect on the impact on the company’s corporate structure and the “global role” he was hired to perform.

TikTok’s GM for North America Vanessa Pappas will take over the position on an interim basis.

Mayer was a big win for ByteDance: he previously headed the launch of Disney+ by The Walt Disney Company, and also chaired its direct-to-consumer and international operations.

His appointment appeared to be an attempt to assuage US government concerns over the security and safety of video streaming app TikTok, which has recently come into the crosshairs of President Trump.

Earlier this week, TikTok launched a legal challenge to a presidential executive order banning US companies trading with ByteDance from 20 September.

The president later also ordered ByteDance to offload the US arm of TikTok within three months, with Microsoft and Oracle emerging as potential buyers.