In general, the situation is the exact opposite: companies want to claim authority, but when an employee makes a statement they don’t like they want to have the deniability of “oh they weren’t representing us, if you want our real opinion please talk to our spokesperson”. Corporate PR is a strange mix of wanting engagement but also being incredibly risk-averse, and it’s very different from how people typically communicate.

I propose changing these disclaimers about "not representing the company" yada yada, to ICOG, which stands for I am a cog in the machine.

What statements do you feel he should be held accountable for that he is not? Please quote.

I’m not sure how much authority being tech lead confers? It’s the lowest possible line management position. I wouldn’t expect a tech lead to have any influence whatsoever on legal, contractual or communication issues