Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile for Web Summit Qatar via Getty Images; BI

Earlier this year, the e-commerce team at TikTok announced a policy change that sent some of its sellers into a frenzy.

The company told all US merchants they needed to switch to TikTok Shop's in-house fulfillment and shipping program by the end of March. They could no longer send out their products independently and would have to pay TikTok's service fee.

The mandate drew backlash, with some sellers threatening to leave the platform, a Shop agency partner said. The company scrapped the proposed policy in February.

Company insiders say the incident speaks to how leadership within TikTok Shop in the US has changed over the last few years. TikTok has elevated executives with backgrounds in Chinese e-commerce — many of whom are now based in the US — and shed American e-commerce leaders through layoffs or voluntary exits.…