EU Nation Advocates for TikTok Prohibition
Estonia’s foreign minister is calling on the EU to impose a ban on TikTok due to security issues and the spread of disinformation. Read Full Article at RT.com.
These remarks followed a brief suspension of TikTok’s services in the US over the weekend, which occurred after its parent company, ByteDance, failed to satisfy a January 19 deadline aimed at divesting its American operations. This situation arose after the US Supreme Court reaffirmed a federal law mandating that ByteDance sell TikTok to a US entity or face shutdown, amidst ongoing concerns regarding national security due to Chinese ownership.
“Over the past years, we’ve witnessed TikTok spreading disinformation and being a platform for election manipulations... Banning TikTok must be considered in Europe as well,” Tsahkna remarked in a post on X, while also highlighting the app's extensive data collection practices as a significant security concern.
In a subsequent interview with the Estonian news portal ERR, Tsahkna referenced instances of TikTok being implicated in the interference of “democratic processes.” He cited a recent case from Romania where the first round of presidential election results was nullified due to evidence of Russian interference through an extensive online campaign.
However, contrary to Tsahkna’s assertions, investigations revealed that it was actually Romania’s pro-EU liberal party that financed the TikTok campaign which reportedly enhanced the popularity of the first-round election’s victor, the right-wing anti-NATO candidate Calin Georgescu. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the allegations of interference, and TikTok has likewise denied the claims, stating that it actively monitors and removes misleading content and manipulation efforts.
Tsahkna argued that platforms like TikTok fail to deliver balanced information, functioning instead as instruments for disseminating “biased content.” “TikTok is not media, it is a weapon of influence,” he emphasized. He raised alarms over the app’s data collection methods, particularly given its Chinese ownership.
“There is a legitimate concern that the data could end up in the hands of Chinese authorities,” he stated, referencing a report from last year by the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service that suggested the platform gathers information potentially useful for intelligence operations, blackmail, or cyberattacks.
In a related development, TikTok services were restored to US users on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans for an executive order to reverse the app's suspension and extend the compliance deadline for an additional 90 days. “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” Trump stated on his Truth Social platform, proposing a plan for a US acquisition of a 50% stake in TikTok through a joint venture to safeguard national security and retain the substantial revenue generated by the app in the US.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News