LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s digital policy chief warned the TikTok boss on Thursday that the social media app will have to comply with tough new rules for online platforms that are expected to come into effect later this year. year.
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton held a video call with Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, the popular Chinese video-sharing app that has come under increasing scrutiny from Western authorities due to concerns about data privacy, cybersecurity and misinformation.
The pair discussed the company’s plans to comply with the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which is due to come into force for the biggest online businesses in September. The law is a sweeping set of rules that will force platforms to reduce harmful online content and tackle online risks.
“With younger audiences comes greater responsibility,” Breton said, according to a reading of the appeal. “It is not acceptable that behind seemingly fun and innocuous features, it takes users seconds to access harmful and sometimes even life-threatening content.”
Breton added that with millions of young users in Europe, TikTok has a “special responsibility” to ensure the safety of its content.
TikTok is hugely popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has fueled fears that Beijing could use it to harvest user data or push pro-China narratives or misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
Earlier this month, Shou met with four other EU Executive Commission officials in Brussels to discuss concerns ranging from child safety to investigations into user data flowing to China. In the United States, at least 22 states, the military and Congress have banned the TikTok app from government-issued devices.
A London-based spokesperson for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s Brussels-based director of public policy and government relations, Caroline Greer, said on Twitter that Breton’s interview with Shou was a “good exchange” and that “the safety of our users is paramount”.
Breton also expressed concern over allegations that TikTok is spying on journalists and transferring reams of users’ personal data outside of Europe, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s strict privacy rules.
Bretaon said he had “explicitly conveyed” to Shou that TikTok must “step up its efforts to comply” with EU rules on data protection, copyright as well as digital services At, which includes provisions for heavy fines or even an EU ban for repeated offenses that threaten human life or safety.
“We will not hesitate to adopt the full set of penalties to protect our citizens if audits do not show full compliance,” he said.
Greer said TikTok “welcomed the opportunity” to reiterate its commitment to the Digital Services Act and described efforts to comply with EU privacy rules and a voluntary code of practice on disinformation for technology companies.
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