As TikTok becomes more and more popular on smartphones – and not only those of the youngest but also of adults – concerns about the security of the Chinese social network are only increasing. After the US federal government, too the European Union has raised its doubtswhich took shape in a formal request to all Commission employees (one of the three bodies of the EU together with the Parliament and the Council) by uninstall the app from their phones. Both professionally and personally. Those who really can’t help but scroll through the videos chosen by the TikTok algorithm can continue to do so only on their personal device, making sure, however, that all documents relating to his work are deleted. For the moment, as mentioned, the request has only reached employees of the European Commission, but it is highly probable that it will also soon reach those who hold positions in the Parliament and the Council.
«Extremely careful to protect our data»
«The European Commission is an institution and as such it has a strong focus on cyber security protection and it is on this that we have made this decision,” he explained Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. «We are extremely careful to protect our data» and precise: «No, there was no pressure from the US». The decision to ban TikTok, he clarified, was taken by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn. Employees will have until March 15th to uninstall the app.
TikTok’s answer
Arriva TikTok’s comment: «We are disappointed with this decision, which we feel wrong and based on bias. We contacted the Commission to set the record straight and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people who are on TikTok every month across the European Union. We are continuing to improve our approach to data securityincluding through the creation of three data centers in Europe to keep user data local, further reducing employee access to data and minimizing data flow outside Europe».
US government ban
The European Union’s decision to take precautions on the most popular Chinese social network follows that of the American federal government: at the end of December, President Joe Biden himself asked all employees to uninstall the app from smartphones used for work. An imposition that comes later the previous decisions of several States (from Ohio to New Jersey) but also del Pentagon to ban the app. The reason? The many national security concerns. Which do nothing but grow especially after the sighting – and shooting down – of a series of spy balloons that flew over the territory of North America. According to the US, TikTok – and the owning company ByteDance – they might exploit the social network installed on millions of devices to access the personal data of American citizens, as well as – in the case of the federal government – to access confidential information passing through employee phones. TikTok had responded, through the words of a spokesperson, describing the decision as «a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests».
Trump’s battle
Now even the European Union has decided to raise its level of attention on TikTok. And so are some member countries, such as the Netherlands, which is considering a ban on the app for its national politicians. If for the EU this is the first political act against the Chinese ByteDance, in the case of the United States the pressure on TikTok has been going on for years. Trump was the first to announce an application notice, sparking protests not only from China but also among very young American users who considered it unacceptable to give up the social network. After weeks of chaotic declarations, it has moved on to months in which the company needed to ensure that US citizens’ data remained on US soil. A definitive solution has not yet been found, but with Biden we have returned to the topic. There are promises but no guarantees that this data doesn’t travel across the Pacific to reach China.
Where does the data of European citizens end up?
In the European Union the matter is different. Our data is protected by GDPR – the European regulation on privacy – which provides, among other things, that the data of Europeans must remain in Europe. TikTok, which has already opened a data center in Irelandis planning to open two more in order to contain the information of the over 125 million users active monthly in our continent. At the moment it is unclear where our data shared with the social end up. While there have been many reassurances from CEO Shou Zi Chew to both US and EU authorities, a recent privacy policy change announcement revealed that in reality ByteDance employees have access to European user data, «to ensure that their experience on the platform is consistent, pleasant and safe». As it reports the Guardianthe same TikTok privacy officer in Europe, Elaine Foxhe explained: «Based on a proven need to do our job, in compliance with a set of robust security controls and approval protocols, and through methods recognized by the GDPR, we allow some employees of our corporate group located in Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and the United States, remote access to the data of European TikTok users”. Will they really be safe and the GDPR respected? There is not much conviction, given the move by the EU.