The European Union is the latest government entity to ponder canceling a Chinese government-tied app.
Soon after President Joe Biden signed a bill giving TikTok a choice between Chinese divestment and a ban in the U.S., European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took up the same question, according to Politico EU. Asked about the possibility of a TikTok ban during a European Union (EU) candidate debate, von der Leyen replied, “It is not excluded.” This comes as TikTok already faces multiple EU probes.
Von der Leyen then bragged that the Commission had been “the very first institution worldwide to ban TikTok on our corporate phones,” adding, “We know exactly the danger of TikTok.” Other candidates at the debate did not commit either way, Politico reported. The outlet also noted that von der Leyen has avoided using the app during her campaign.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) owns a board seat and maintains a financial stake in TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, and multiple reports claim data sharing with Chinese employees, raising security concerns.
Both the EU and TikTok have an anti-free speech record, but TikTok’s Communist China ties could still land it in even more hot water in Europe. Politico noted two EU probes into TikTok. The first regarded a feature rewarding users who interacted with the TikTok Lite app. The Digital Services Act (DSA) probe triggered TikTok’s suspension of the feature.
Another probe under the DSA is reportedly investigating whether or not TikTok failed to protect minors on the app. This probe could have a final penalty of temporary suspension of the app.
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