WASHINGTON – TikTok is preparing to remove 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, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr Erich Andersen, the US-based general counsel for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, has led years-long talks with the US government meant to show that the app was doing enough to prevent China from accessing US users’ data or influencing what they see on their feeds. 

Those efforts failed to win over an inter-agency government panel conducting a security review of the app and lawmakers in Washington weighing legislation that would force its divestiture. On April 20, the US House approved a Bill requiring TikTok to be sold by its Chinese parent or face a ban in the US.

The company is planning for Mr Andersen to exit his current role, according to the people, who discussed the move on condition of anonymity. Mr Andersen remains with the company for now, according to one of the sources.

Mr Andersen referred questions to the company’s communications team.

“That is 100 per cent false,” said TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek, when asked for comment on whether the company is set to remove Mr Andersen from his role.

That divest-or-ban legislation is now accelerating towards becoming law, with the US Senate prepared to pass the measure next week. US President Joe Biden has already said he would sign the legislation, mandating a sale of TikTok within a year.

Mr Andersen joined the social media company in 2020 from Microsoft, where he was most recently corporate vice-president and chief intellectual property counsel. BLOOMBERG