French MPs called on the government to ban TikTok unless the social network clarifies its ties to China. This request comes days after the French government claimed the media fueled the recent riots.
The Senate Commission of Inquiry, set up to investigate TikTok’s data processing and “influencing” strategy, said in its final report that the company will have a January 1, 2024 deadline to clarify the nature of its ties to Chinese authorities and ensure “effective” moderation. implementing its content, as well as promoting “efficient age verification”.
Otherwise, senators called on the French government to “suspend” the use of the application in the country and even ask for “suspension in the European Union”.
“We disagree with the conclusions of this report, which do not accurately represent the facts,” said a TikTok spokesperson.
Opinion on social media platforms tightened after Emmanuel Macron alluded to the possibility of “cutting” them if the country faced widespread unrest, despite the recommendations not being binding on the government.
Macron and his ministers have singled out platforms like TikTok to release footage of the nights of violence that followed the June 27 police shooting that killed a 17-year-old, Nahel M, in a Paris suburb.
MPs supported the idea of blocking content in times of crisis and suggested requiring TikTok to moderate more in the event of future outbreaks of violence.
His recommendations, which could form the basis for legislation in the fall, could extend to other platforms as well.
“False Perceptions”
The application, which is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, is made by the Chinese company ByteDance, but it is registered in the Cayman Islands. However, TikTok claims there has been a “total separation” with the Chinese entities.
The platform has already been banned in the US state of Montana and is under intense scrutiny in many locations.
Senators asked the government to extend the current ban on government officials from using TikTok to anyone who plays a role “critically important” in any public or private organization.
Children should be restricted from using the app and more efforts are needed to ensure copyright protection, senators said.
The most intense hearings have focused on TikTok’s ownership structure, with senators repeatedly blocked by French executives over the company’s ties to Chinese entities.
Andre Gattolin, vice chair of the committee, said he “definitely doubted” the viability of TikTok’s business model. “It is not an economic company, but a political company with the aim of recording personal data,” he underlined.
A spokesperson for TikTok stated that the company cooperated throughout the process, adding: “It is disappointing that the Commission is spending so much time and resources going back to the same misconceptions.”
Source: DN
