TikTok’s general counsel to move to new role focused on combating US sales

TikTok’s general counsel to move to new role focused on combating US sales

Erich Andersen, general counsel for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, will step down from that role in June to focus on fighting forced sales of video apps in the US, the company said on Friday.

Andersen will remain at the company and become its special counsel to lead TikTok’s efforts to overturn a law signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday that gave ByteDance 270 days to release TikTok’s short video app in the United States or face a ban.

TikTok said this week it plans to file a lawsuit to challenge the law but declined to say when it plans to do so.

Andersen was a key player in the company’s successful 2020 challenge to the Trump administration’s attempt to ban TikTok and last year’s challenge that led to a judge blocking the state of Montana’s ban.

TikTok, which says it does not share and will not share data on U.S. users. with the Chinese government, is set to challenge the bill on First Amendment grounds and TikTok users are also expected to take legal action again.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew praised Andersen and said he was pleased Andersen “has agreed to take on the role of special counsel to focus on this very important mission facing our company.”

Chew said on Wednesday the company expects to win its legal challenge to block the law that could ban the app used by 170 million Americans.

Biden’s signature set a January 19 deadline for the sale — a day before his term is set to expire — but he could extend the deadline by three months if he determines ByteDance is making progress.

Driven by widespread concern among US lawmakers that China could access Americans’ data or surveil them with the app, the bill has been overwhelmingly passed in recent days.

The four-year battle over TikTok is a key battleground in the war over the internet and technology between Washington and Beijing.