Controversy over the dangers surrounding Chinese video sharing platform TikTok is spreading around the world.
In the U.S. and Europe, regulatory movements and lawsuits are continuing due to concerns over national security threats, and concerns continue to threaten children with addictive and harmful content.
According to AFP on the 8th (local time), French President Emmanuel Macron directly hit at a mental health-related event in Fontaine Conte, saying, “TikTok is the most (psychologically) disruptive network among young people.”
President Macron also claimed that TikTok has problems with information censorship and manipulation, such as blocking information on human rights issues in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region or hiding Russian propaganda.
These issues of TikTok security and dangers to children and adolescents have recently been raised one after another in the West.
According to the New York Times (NYT), British regulators warned in September that TikTok could be fined up to $29 million if it violates a new law protecting children’s privacy.
The European Commission has also launched an investigation into allegations that TikTok provided information data of EU citizens to the Chinese government and advertisements targeting minors.
The U.S. is also raising the possibility of a national security threat from the federal government to the state government.
TikTok claims that it is an independent company from the Chinese government, citing that it has offices in Los Angeles (LA) and Singapore, and that the Chinese government has never asked for data from U.S. users.
However, the New York Times reported on the 7th that the Joe Biden administration has been negotiating with TikTok for months on security threats such as data collection and the possibility of data transmission to the Chinese government.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also criticized the Chinese government last month for using TikTok to collect TikTok user data and control recommended algorithms.
Some U.S. states have launched investigations on charges of privacy violations and national security violations, and some have issued executive orders banning the use of TikTok by affiliated organizations.
Indiana sued TikTok for violating consumer protection laws by hiding the Chinese government’s access to sensitive consumer information and exposing inappropriate content to teenage users.
The harm inflicted on teenagers is also criticized as serious enough to kill them beyond addiction.
It is pointed out that TikTok is not taking enough measures to protect children with poor judgment from dangerous content.
