TikTok ban in the EU "not excluded" - von der Leyen
Kyiv • UNN
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted that a ban on TikTok in the European Union is a possible option.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted that banning TikTok in the European Union is an option during a debate on April 29 in Maastricht, which is attended by leading candidates from the parties in the bloc's 2024 elections, UNN reports citing Politico.
Details
"It's not excluded," von der Leyen said after the moderator mentioned the United States, where TikTok is facing a national ban if it is not sold by its owner, ByteDance.
She immediately added that the European Commission was "the very first organization in the world to ban TikTok on our corporate phones.
Von der Leyen was speaking not as president of the European Commission in Maastricht, but as a leading candidate for the center-right European People's Party - but this remark came amid a series of bad news for TikTok in Europe, the publication notes.
Addendum
Last week, TikTok decided to suspend a feature that rewarded users for interacting with the TikTok Lite app after the European Commission began to examine the feature in accordance with the blockchain's content moderation rules, the Digital Services Act (DSA).
TikTok is subject to a separate investigation - also under the DSA - on charges of failing to protect minors. Under the DSA, the European Commission may in any case order a temporary suspension of the service as a last resort.
Other candidates at the debate were more reserved, the newspaper writes. Marie-Agnes Straka-Zimmermann, the leading candidate from the liberal ALDE party, said that it was necessary to see what was going on when it came to TikTok.
Von der Leyen herself reportedly avoids TikTok during her re-election campaign.
