Could Germany be the first in Europe to ban TikTok? Lawmakers call for debate following US vote

[bnew]

Lawmakers in Germany call for TikTok ban to be considered

Some German MPs on a parliamentary intelligence board think the country should consider a harder stance on TikTok.

www.euronews.com

Could Germany be the first in Europe to ban TikTok? Lawmakers call for debate following US vote​

By Anna Desmarais

Published on 22/03/2024 - 09:31•Updated 09:31

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Some German MPs on a parliamentary intelligence board think the country should consider a harder stance on TikTok.

German politicians are discussing whether they need to harden their stance on TikTok, a Chinese-owned social media app for short social media videos.

It comes a few days after the US House of Representatives voted unanimously in favour of legislation that could force ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, to sell the app or face a complete ban from app stores in the United States.

The bill still needs to be examined by the US Senate before it becomes law.

• Which countries have banned TikTok and why?
  
  

Multiple members of a German parliamentary board that monitors intelligence services have spoken recently about the topic.

Roderich Kiesewetter, vice chairman of the Bundestag’s intelligence control committee and member of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told German daily the Handelsblatt that the country should consider a "general ban on TikTok" if stricter regulation of the platform can’t be "implemented efficiently".

Some politicians in Germany consider the app "a danger to our democracy," Kiesewetter continued, because it is an "important instrument" in China and Russia’s hybrid warfare.

There are roughly 19 million users of TikTok in Germany, according to a 2023 government response tabled in the Bundestag.

• TikTok seen in US as China's tool, even as it distances itself from Beijing
  
  

Regulation instead of an outright ban​

Jens Zimmerman, a member of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, said, according to German broadcaster BR, that the government should consider at least banning the app on federal devices. This is the case for the EU institutions, for instance.

Others, like Ralf Stegner from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Konstantin von Notz, the deputy leader of Germany’s Green Party, said they would like to see how regulations will work instead of a full-out ban which can be hard to enforce.

By regulatory efforts, Stegner and von Notz are referring to the Digital Services Act (DSA).

• US Congressional committee unanimous in first TikTok ban legislation vote
  
  

The act, which came into effect this year, requires Internet companies to take consistent action to make sure disinformation and illegal content are not being spread on their platforms.

In February, the European Commission announced an investigation into TikTok under the DSA for breaches related to "the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access as well as risk management of addictive design".

The Commission told Euronews Next in a statement that they have no comment about the ongoing TikTok ban bill in the United States, nor on talks in Germany.

• 'Matter of national security': Call to act on cyber violence against women after suicides in Albania
  
  

A Commission spokesperson said that decisions on IT security measures "lie with the relevant national authority".

The statement added that the DSA can as a last resort put in place a temporary "suspension or restriction of access of recipients to the service," if they don't comply with the legislation.

The suspension of TikTok on corporate devices is still in place, the Commission added.

 

[bnew]

this is how authoritarian regimes wins, they bring you down to their level when you're willing to use the same practices against against your own population, they can just point and say even the biggest proponents of free speech agrees with our methods.

 

[voiture]

this is how authoritarian regimes wins, they bring you down to their level when you're willing to use the same practices against against your own population, they can just point and say even the biggest proponents of free speech agrees with our methods.

I have no idea where this idea of free speech extending to foreign entities came from.
If that's the case why not have a 1 world government? What's the purpose of national sovereignty if outsiders get the same rights as citizens?

 

[The Guru]

Was always going to be Germany or France. iykyn

 

[TEXAS MANDINGO]

"The act, which came into effect this year, requires Internet companies to take consistent action to make sure disinformation and illegal content are not being spread on their platforms"

Are they considering a ban of Twitter and YouTube too?

 

[Yapdatfool]

"The act, which came into effect this year, requires Internet companies to take consistent action to make sure disinformation and illegal content are not being spread on their platforms"

Are they considering a ban of Twitter and YouTube too?

shyt might as well ban the internet with this logic, no way they catch everything. Emails notorious for this too, phishing and junk and spam emails...

 

[bnew]

I have no idea where this idea of free speech extending to foreign entities came from.
If that's the case why not have a 1 world government? What's the purpose of national sovereignty if outsiders get the same rights as citizens?