The European commissioner Thierry Breton, especially in charge of digital, invited TikTok this Thursday, among the other large online platforms, to accept a “blank” audit before the entry into force at the end of August of new, more restrictive rules aimed at to them. He spoke at the Cannes Film Festival, of which TikTok became an official partner last year.
“I’ve heard a lot about the partnership between the Festival and TikTok in the hallways. Everyone knows how important issues related to data protection and online security are. In this context, I think it’s useful for organizations listening to establish partnerships or expand them, they care about these issues and ensure the conditions of use of the data,” Thierry Breton told AFP.
45 million active users in the EU
The social network, whose parent company is the Chinese group Bytedance, was designated at the end of April among the 19 very large online platforms, which also include Twitter and the main services of Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft, which must regarding as of August 25 the Digital Services Act (DSA).
These companies, each of which has more than 45 million active users in the EU, will come under the supervision of the European Commission and will be subject to reinforced rules, including the obligation of an independent annual audit to ensure that they “fight effectively against misinformation, hate online or fakes.
“There is certainly a lot of work to be done and I hope that all of TikTok’s energy is spent on this fulfillment more than anything else, but it is not for me to judge TikTok’s use of time and media. However, I know that the August 25 will come very soon,” warned Thierry Breton. He also invited these large platforms to accept “blank” audits, that is, prior and without consequences in case of violation.
“Some accepted that we were going to do it, even at home, where their headquarters are. It is always more interesting to go to the headquarters than to the representative offices”, insisted the European commissioner, stressing that Twitter, for example, had accepted this “in situ” audit.
Source: BFM TV
