Creep alert — TikTok accused of mishandling sexual harassment allegations Womans employment ended after probe into complaint about advances made by manager.
Cristina Criddle, Financial Times – Mar 14, 2023 1:24 pm UTC EnlargeTolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images reader comments 14 with Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit
TikTok has been accused of mishandling allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment against a senior manager in London, highlighting longstanding concerns about the working culture at the fast-growing social media platform.
Steve Ware, former head of TikToks UK e-commerce studio operations, made inappropriate sexual comments and advances to young female staff members and clients, including influencers who create content on the app, according to four women who worked with him at TikTok.
Ware has told the Financial Times that all allegations against him are false.
The issues related to Ware follow previous claims about failures to address formal HR complaints against senior staff and concerns about the working culture at the short-form video app owned by Chinas ByteDance.
The FT reported last year that Joshua Ma, who had been leading TikToks European e-commerce team, told staff at a dinner that as a capitalist, he didnt believe in maternity leave. Ma stepped down from his role following the revelation but remains at the company. Advertisement
One woman, whom we call Sarah to protect her identity, outlined a series of distressing encounters with her boss, Ware, in late 2021 and early 2022. The FT has reviewed messages between Sarah and Ware, her communications with TikTok, as well as with friends that corroborate aspects of her story.
Sarah said the behavior included being repeatedly propositioned by Ware in the office, at work events, over messages sent outside work hours, and two instances of inappropriate touching. Sarah said she felt unsafe and trapped in rooms alone with him, where he once tried to kiss her and on another occasion threatened to slap her arse.
In early 2022, Sarah raised the issue with Wares manager, Patrick Nommensen, who placed her on immediate paid suspension as the company investigated the complaint.
Nommensen asked Sarah to only log on to internal systems to contact him or the companys ethics officer about the investigation, according to an internal message reviewed by the FT. Sarah said she submitted about 30 screenshots of communications and a list of five people who could support her account to the investigation. Page: 1 2 Next → reader comments 14 with Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Advertisement Channel Ars Technica ← Previous story Related Stories Today on Ars