Emmanuel Macron does not mince his words with regard to TikTok. During a trip Thursday, December 8 to Fontaine-le-Comte, in Vienne, where he came to meet professionals in the mental health of young people, the Head of State gave his opinion on the Chinese application extremely popular with teenagers. A discussion reported by our colleagues from AFP and relayed by several media, including Le Figaro.
“There is a real addiction“
TikTok would be, in the words of Emmanuel Macron, the “first disturber (psychological), the most effective network in children and adolescents.” An assertion launched without citing any source by the president. The tenant of the Elysee Palace recognized the relevance and formidable efficiency of the content recommendation algorithm.
“This network is confusingly naive. They have 10,000 very well trained guys pushing content. He knows very well what you like [et] pushes really well done things that are much more innovative than the Americans“, he launched. This excessive relevance of the videos offered to users would lead, according to the Head of State, to real public health problems. “Behind, there is a real addiction“, explains Emmanuel Macron.
Content manipulation?
The President of the Republic also denounces the dark side of the platform owned by the Chinese group ByteDance. According to him, some geopolitical content could be promoted on the application, while others would be less exposed. “This is where you have hidden Russian propaganda“, he said, before launching: “I challenge you to find content about what is happening in Xinjiang or whatever“. This last statement is partially erroneous, as our colleagues from BFM TV.
On the version of TikTok offered outside of China, content devoted to the treatment of Uyghur populations by the Chinese authorities is available in large numbers. Videos even explain in detail the situation in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. On the other hand, as demonstrated by the youtuber Defend Intelligence, the version of the application offered to Chinese users, known as Douyin, does not offer any videos dedicated to the Uyghurs. The participation of the Chinese authorities in this content censorship is pointed out by many experts.
Growing concerns around the world
United States, India, Egypt… The criticisms of the French president echo those formulated in many countries around the globe. In the land of Uncle Sam, the Chinese application has been in the news for several months. The measures restricting the use of the application are increasing and several legal actions have just been launched by the Indiana State Attorney.
In recent days, it was the director of the FBI himself who was worried about interference from the social network at the national level. TikTok and its recommendations are “in the hands of a government that does not share our values and whose mission is far removed from what is in the interests of the United States. This should concern us”, explained Chris Wray.
In Europe, the Chinese application is under several investigations because of its management of personal data. After Emmanuel Macron’s recent remarks, the sky is darkening a little more over TikTok.