TikTok is preparing to fire key executives responsible for convincing the U.S. government that it was doing enough to avoid national security concerns about its ties to China, people said. That's what it means.
Eric Andersen, U.S.-based general counsel for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, says the app does a good job of preventing China from accessing or influencing U.S. users' data. It has led several years of discussions with the U.S. government to this end. What they see on their feed.
Those efforts have failed to win support from government committees that conduct safety reviews of apps or from lawmakers in Washington who are considering legislation that would force them to be sold. On Saturday, the US House of Representatives approved a bill that would require TikTok to be sold to its Chinese parent company or face a ban in the US.
The company plans for Mr. Andersen to step down from his current role, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the move. Mr. Andersen will remain with the company for now, one of the people said.
Andersen referred questions to the company's communications team.
“That's 100% false,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Howrek said when asked for comment on whether the company intended to remove Andersen from his role.
The divest or ban bill is now accelerating toward passage, with the Senate poised to pass it as early as next week. President Joe Biden has already said he will sign legislation requiring the sale of TikTok within a year.
Andersen joined the social media company in 2020 from Microsoft, where he most recently served as corporate vice president and chief intellectual property advisor.
