The EU Commission has threatened the head of the popular video app Tiktok, Shou Zi Chew, with far-reaching sanctions if his company fails to comply with European rules in the future. It is unacceptable that users can access dangerous and sometimes even life-threatening content through seemingly harmless and funny features within seconds, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Thursday after a conversation with Chew .
He was also concerned about allegations that journalists were being spied on and that personal data was being transferred to locations outside Europe. “I have sent a very clear signal to Tiktok CEO Shou Zi Chew that we need to step up our efforts to comply with EU legislation on data protection, copyright and online platforms,” said Breton. This applies in particular to the new EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which will apply to major platforms from September 1st of this year.
EU law allows for the prohibition
“We will not hesitate to decide on all possible sanctions if audits do not show full compliance,” he added. The new EU law also allows services in the EU to be banned in case of repeated serious violations that endanger people’s lives or safety.
Internet platform Tiktok, owned by Chinese group Bytedance, has long been criticized for poor data security and lack of protection for young users. It is feared, for example, that the Chinese state may have access to Tiktok data. Tiktok denies this.