The Senate commission of inquiry, which for four months looked into the operation and “strategy of influence” of the application of Chinese origin TikTok, delivers its conclusions on Thursday, while social networks are accused of to have participated in the runaway recent urban violence in France.
Claude Malhuret supporter of a hard line towards social networks
The report will be presented at a press conference on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. It should address the many criticisms of the application of short and entertaining videos, belonging to the Chinese giant ByteDance, since it became during confinement one of the most popular social platforms for adolescents.
Links with China, moderation of content, addiction, personal data, fate of the Uyghurs: during a hearing in early June, the commission had bombarded two leaders of TikTok in France with questions, without obtaining more than denials and vague answers. But the rapporteur Claude Malhuret, president of the group Les Indépendants-République et Territoires, is in favor of a hard line towards social networks, the excesses of which he frequently points out, recently about the riots which followed the death of young Nahel.
Government may consider ‘suspending features’
“The responsibility of anti-social networks in the spread of violence is such that the President of the Republic had to summon them to the Elysée Palace. Barack Obama said that these networks have become one of the main threats against our democracies. The proof is there “, he launched Wednesday during a session of questions to the government.
The government could also consider “suspending functionality” on social networks in the event of new riots, the executive said on Wednesday. Despite claiming “total separation” from its entities in China, TikTok faces growing limitations in the West, on the accusation of transfers of user data to this country which forces local companies and its nationals to disclose the data stored on their servers if the State requests them.
Citing cybersecurity risks, the French government in March banned the downloading and use of the social network (among other recreational apps) on the work phones of 2.5 million state officials, following in the footsteps of many many other Western executives and parliaments.
In the United States, Montana has banned TikTok from January 1, 2024 and other American states could follow, while Congress and the White House consider similar bills. The app is used monthly by around 150 million Americans and the same number of Europeans.