ByteDance, the parent company of the Chinese social network TikTok, implies a “total separation” between the European and Chinese entities, an executive of the social network in France said Thursday, as the company faces increasing restrictions in the West.
“In terms of the legal organization of the group, there is a complete separation” between TikTok in Europe “and other entities operating in China,” Eric Garandeau, director of public affairs for TikTok SAS, told the French senate’s commission of inquiry into the social network. , very popular among young people.
As for the different European branches, there is “a channel that is entirely subject to a law that is not Chinese,” added the former president of the French National Film Center (CNC).
This Thursday afternoon, the commission of inquiry will hear from Marlène Masure, General Director of Operations for France, Benelux and Southern Europe at TikTok SAS.
Created at the request of the Les Indépendants group, the Senate investigation commission into the use of the social network, its “data exploitation” and its “influence strategy” will present its conclusions before the summer break.
The committee has already heard various experts, as well as MEPs Raphaël Glucksmann, chair of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in All Democratic Processes in the European Union, and Nathalie Loiseau, chair of the Security and Defense subcommittee.
The commission also scheduled a hearing with the Minister of Digital Transition and Telecommunications, Jean-Noël Barrot, for the 19th.
As it is a parliamentary commission of inquiry, those summoned are required to take an oath.
Citing cybersecurity risks, the French government had already banned, in March, the downloading and use of the controversial Chinese social network (among other “recreational” apps) on the work mobile phones of its 2.5 million employees, following footsteps of many Western governments and parliaments.
At the end of April, the European Union (EU) presented a list of 19 major online platforms, including Twitter, TikTok and the main services of Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft, which will be subject to stricter controls from from the end of August.
Several US politicians, who want to ban TikTok in the United States, claim that the popular platform allows Beijing to collect user data without their knowledge and influence their opinions, something the app has always denied.
In a hearing before the US Congress at the end of March, the head of TikTok, Shou Chew, again stated that Beijing does not have access to this data.
Source: TSF
