TikTok’s US-based general counsel Erich Andersen to step down from role

Erich Andersen, the US-based general counsel for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., is stepping down from that role, the social media app said.

Andersen, who was a key executive responsible for convincing the US government that the company was doing enough to stave off national security concerns about its connections to China, will leave the role in June. He’ll remain as “special counsel to the company,” according to a TikTok statement on Friday.

The move comes days after President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that threatens TikTok’s existence in the US, requiring ByteDance to either divest its stake in the app or see it banned. The companies are expected to wage a legal battle to try to overturn or delay enforcement of the legislation.