TikTok General Counsel Plans to Step Down Ahead of High-Stakes Legal Battle with U.S.

Erich Andersen, the general counsel of TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance who has overseen the company’s national security negotiations with the U.S. government, has told other senior TikTok executives that he is planning to step down from his current role.

In a note he sent on Sunday morning to TikTok leaders and his own legal team, which was viewed by The Information, Andersen said he will, for the time being, continue to serve as general counsel “until the company is ready to proceed with the transition to a new leader and we can be assured that there will be no drop off in focus and attention.” He said he plans to work as a legal adviser to the company after stepping down as general counsel. Andersen didn’t specify any date for the expected transition.