TikTok names longtime Microsoft worker as top US lawyer

TikTok has reportedly named longtime Microsoft legal worker Matthew Penarczyk to work as its top layer for the Americas.

A spokesperson for TikTok told Bloomberg Law that Penarczyk will be the top layer in the U.S. and broader Americas region, including South America.

According to Bloomberg, Penarczyk will be joining former Microsoft college Aeric Andersen, who was hired last year as global general counsel and head of corporate affairs for ByteDance, TikTok’s paren’t company.

The Hill has reached out to TikTok for comment.

Penarczyk spent nearly 19 years at Microsoft, most recently serving as vice president and deputy general counsel for compliance and ethics, according to his LinkedIn page. He started at the TikTok last month.

Microsoft sought to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations last year, when then- President Trump sought to ban TikTok over its data gathering policies. ByteDance later turned down the offer and went with one from Oracle.

Even then, the orders were blocked in courts and never took effect. President Biden replaced Trump’s order banning downloads of TikTok last month.

The hire is the latest in a series of hires for the short-form video app.

In April, Tiktok announced that Shou Zi Chew would serve as its CEO after being ByteDance’s chief financial officer. It also announced Vanessa Pappas as its chief operating officer.