TALLINN - Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has recommended that European countries consider following in America's footsteps and banning the Chinese-owned TikTok platform.
"In recent years, we have also seen in Europe how disinformation and fake news are spread and election results are influenced using the TikTok social media application. The clearest example of this we saw only recently in Romania, where the results of the first round of the presidential elections were annulled because Russian interference in the elections through the organization of a massive online campaign was detected," the Foreign Ministry quoted Tsahkna as saying.
Social media applications such as TikTok, according to Tsahkna, do not provide balanced information, but allow for effective dissemination of biased content.
"TikTok is not media, but a tool of influence," Tsahkna contended. "In addition, it is known that TikTok collects large amounts of data on its users, yet it is unclear who may have access to the collected data. Given that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, there are legitimate concerns that the data could end up in the hands of Chinese authorities. The previous year's report from the Foreign Intelligence Service also states that TikTok extensively collects information that could be useful for intelligence gathering, blackmail, and also for cyberattacks."
In light of the above, and taking into account the security risks, according to Tsahkna, it is necessary to consider banning TikTok in Europe as well. At the same time, discussions must continue in democracies on how to successfully counter the onslaught of hostile communication robots based on artificial intelligence, which clearly aim to interfere in democratic processes.
The US Supreme Court on Friday decided to uphold the law banning TikTok in the US. None of the Supreme Court justices disagreed on the ban. TikTok owners had complained that the ban violates the First Amendment, which guarantees free speech. However, according to the Supreme Court, this is not the case.
The administration of the outgoing US president, Joe Biden, noted that it would be up to President-elect Donald Trump to decide whether or not to sign the ban into law.
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