Growing distrust and successive bans on the phones of parliamentarians and civil servants in Europe and the United States have cast doubt on TikTok’s future. Can the app, used by 15 million French people, disappear?
Since the announcement of the ban on TikTok on the mobile phones of French civil servants, the question has been on everyone’s lips: will the application end up being banned in France, for everyone? This possibility has long seemed absurd. When Donald Trump, then President of the United States, announced in August 2020 his intention to ban the app, we wondered if it was not some kind of bluff.
Three years later, things have changed. TikTok’s success has reached new heights. The Covid-19 pandemic and successive confinements in 2020 and 2021 have caused the figures to explode. TikTok now has 1.7 billion active users worldwide. It has become one of the most influential platforms with Instagram – in France too, the social network is increasingly popular.
It is in this context that a new procedure to ban TikTok is taking place in the United States. Its supposed closeness to the Chinese government is increasingly reproached to it – and it could well lead, for good, to its banning in certain Western countries, starting with the USA.
What exactly do we blame TikTok for?
To date, there are several different fronts that TikTok must face: the social network must in particular convince the American Congress, the European Union and French senators that its service is not dangerous, for individuals as well as for institutions. The criticisms against the tool are the same: TikTok would be a danger to the privacy of its users, but also to places of power, as a spy tool.
TikTok has access to a lot of data about these users, like all other major social networks. The particularity of TikTok comes from the fact that the app belongs to ByteDance, a Chinese company. This dependence exposes it to a country’s legislation that can lead it to provide user data if the government asks it.
TikTok has already acknowledged that certain information was already accessible from China, without specifying which. It was this alert that partly precipitated the ban on American parliamentarians and members of the European Commission from installing TikTok on their phones: Western institutions fear possible espionage by Beijing.
Another concern: the time spent by the youngest on the app. A study published in 2022 showed that children and teenagers spent an average of 103 minutes a day on it – a high figure, which could grow even more in the coming years. While Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, imposes a viewing limit for the youngest of 40 minutes per day, this is not yet the case for the rest of the world.
Can TikTok be banned in France?
In France, the ban could go through the Senate. The Upper House announced the creation of a commission of inquiry dedicated to TikTok on February 8, whose purpose is to learn about “ the use of the TikTok social network, its use of data and its influence strategy “. The senators will in particular seek to know how its algorithm works, why the app is ” more addictive than others and whether it has adverse effects on brain development in adolescents and children.
” We are unable to affirm that TikTok is not a potential instrument of disinformation or manipulation for the benefit of undemocratic regimes, nor that its use is safe with regard to the necessary data protection. “, Indicates Claude Malhuret, the rapporteur of the commission, on the site of the Senate. ” The commission of inquiry will shed light on these issues and make recommendations. »
The work of the commission began on March 13, with the hearing of Marc Faddoul, an artificial intelligence researcher specializing in algorithms, and TikTok employees will be questioned. However, the Senate has no power outside of France. It has no way to demand responses from ByteDance. ” I’m under no illusions, we’re not going to reveal everything, but the commission allows us to put our foot in the door “, said Claude Malhuret during a press briefing on February 9.
The senators have six months to make their conclusions – they should be made before the summer and the suspension of parliamentary activity. However, it is important to note that the commission of inquiry does not have decision-making power: it can only submit a report to the Senate and advise on actions to be taken, but not put them in place on its own.
Nevertheless, ” an information mission can lead to legislative adaptations, so we could propose a law, or proposals for European resolutions “Says Senator Catherine Morin-Desailly, who is part of the commission of inquiry, joined by Numerama.
” If the conclusions are really damning, I hope that they will also be watched by the public and taken into account. The general public has an interest in paying attention to all platforms. We are faced with very addictive models, and the hyper consumption of these networks, where opinion is shaped by algorithms. All of this prompts us to be cautious. »
Can TikTok be banned in Europe?
It is not only in France that TikTok could be banned: such a decision could also be considered at the level of the European Union. BFMTV also noted that the banning of the app ” would most likely be taken at European level, in order to ensure consistency across all EU countries. »
The European Commission has launched several investigations into China’s use of user data. “ The European gendarme will investigate on the one hand the use of data made by the Chinese social network, but also on targeted advertising for minors “reported BFMTV. Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, has also ” called on TikTok to be more transparent about how its algorithms work “, a sign that the EU is following the case closely.
How could TikTok be banned?
In the event that senators advocate a ban on the app, this would not immediately be the end of TikTok in France. First of all, the Senate should follow their recommendation, the Assembly should take up the problem, or the decision should be taken at European level. In both cases, a legislative procedure would have to be followed, which could take weeks or months.
If the platform is banned, several levers of action exist to make it effective.
The main measure is to withdraw the application from the App and Google Play stores, to deprive the vast majority of individuals with an iPhone or Android phone. It would no longer be possible to update the app or download it. Access to the application on phones already equipped could also be upset.
TikTok also exists as a website. At this level, the pages could also be blocked – the option of blocking by DNS is a tool well known to Internet service providers and mobile operators. This measure is enough to block most Internet users (knowing how to circumvent DNS blocking seems to be a difficulty for the majority of individuals). Search engines could also delist TikTok. The options abound.
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