Erich Andersen, general counsel of TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, will step down in June to take on special counsel dedicated to fighting legislation in the US that would ban the short video app used by 170 million Americans.
TikTok said Andersen “will focus on helping to drive the company’s effort to overturn the unconstitutional ban legislation in the US and other pressing legal matters”.
Last Wednesday, US President Joe Biden signed a bill mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok within 270 days, or face a ban on the platform’s usage in the US.
TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi praised Andersen’s contribution to the company during the past few years and was “delighted that he has agreed to step into the role as special counsel to focus on this very important mission facing our company”.
Andersen joined TikTok in 2020 after spending 25 years at Microsoft. He played a key role in resolving the executive order banning the use of TikTok enacted by former president Donald Trump in 2020 and dealt with a similar crisis in Montana last year.
Last November, a Montana judge ruled that the local TikTok ban violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech to citizens. TikTok is expected to continue its legal battle based on this.
Previously, Chew said the ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.
