“
Transparency will be crucial
”: several senior European officials on Tuesday called on the CEO of the Chinese social network, much criticized in the United States, to “
fully
” respect EU rules, in particular concerning data protection and the fight against misinformation.
Shou Zi Chew met in Brussels, at her request, the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, as well as her colleagues Vera Jourova, in charge of values and transparency, and Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice.
Read alsoThe pressure is growing on TikTok in the United States and France
On the menu of the discussions: "
the protection of personal data, the safety of minors, transparency on paid political content, and the dissemination on TikTok of Russian disinformation
", indicated Vera Jourova, calling on the company to "
make an effort additional (...) to regain the confidence of European regulators
".
"
There can be no doubt about the security of European users' data, that they are not exposed to illegal access by authorities in third countries
," she added, noting that TikTok promised "
a robust system
” of data processing in Europe.
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Investigation underway in Ireland
TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, is criticized for the addiction it arouses among children and adolescents.
In the United States, a law prohibits its use on the devices of civil servants, elected officials accusing it of being a tool of espionage and propaganda in the service of China, against a backdrop of tensions between Beijing and Washington.
ByteDance is also the subject of an investigation by the Irish Privacy Authority, which suspects the company of breaching European data protection law (GDPR) regarding the processing of children's personal data. and data transfers to China.
"
I insisted on the importance of fully complying with the GDPR and cooperating
" with the Irish regulator, Didier Reynders said after the meeting.
ByteDance had to admit last month that employees improperly accessed TikTok user data to track journalists to identify the source of media leaks.
According to Ms. Jourova's firm, Shou Zi Chew admitted on Tuesday "
an error
", assuring that "
the responsible employees no longer worked for the group
".
Read alsoJournalists under surveillance, a case that falls to the worst for TikTok
A report on misinformation
Aiming to stem disinformation and hate speech, a European law on digital services (DSA), which came into force in November, will force the largest online platforms from mid-2023 to be audited by independent bodies, to assess the risks associated with their use and to adopt measures to mitigate them.
“
We are fully committed to applying the provisions of the DSA and have mobilized key resources to ensure our future compliance with the regulations
,” a TikTok spokesperson told AFP on Monday.
Didier Reynders noted "
TikTok's commitments to counter hate speech and guarantee the protection of all users, including children
".
According to the Commission, Shou Zi Chew detailed "
the group's investments in moderation practices aimed at limiting the impact of toxic content
".
The company must also provide “
by the end of January
” a report on disinformation on its platform, as part of a reinforced European code of conduct.
According to Vera Jourova's firm, TikTok "
has recognized that non-European state actors are trying to manipulate the content of the platform for disinformation purposes, and are working to resolve this problem
", having already "
promptly applied the sanctions of the 'EU against Russian propaganda organs
'.
Shou Zi Chew was also due to meet Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs, on Tuesday.
The Singaporean will then meet on January 19 by videoconference with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.
“
I will say exactly the same thing to the president of TikTok
” as to Elon Musk, boss of Twitter, he warned on Monday, hammering that he too had to prepare to “
apply all of our rules (. ..) and obligations, including on the transparency of their algorithms
”.
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