EC President hints at banning TikTok, saying 'We know exactly the dangers of TikTok'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reportedly hinted that a TikTok ban in the EU is an option during a debate with leading candidates for the European Union elections.

TikTok ban in EU is 'not excluded,' von der Leyen says – POLITICO

TikTok ban: EU's Ursula von der Leyen says a ban is possible
https://bgr.com/tech/tiktok-at-risk-as-european-commission-president-calls-it-a-danger-amid-ban-buzz/

According to news media Politico, when the moderator of the debate mentioned the TikTok ban in the United States, President Leyen said, 'The possibility of banning TikTok has not been ruled out (by the EC).' President Leyen quickly added, 'We are the first government agency to ban the use of TikTok,' and 'We know exactly what the dangers of TikTok are.'

The US has passed a law ordering TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok, forcing the company to sell its business or withdraw from the US within nine to 12 months.

President Biden signs TikTok ban bill, 270-day countdown begins until sale or withdrawal. What happened behind the unprecedented speed of the bill? - GIGAZINE

TikTok is not subject to as strict regulations in the EU as it is in the United States, but in February 2024 it faced an investigation by the EC for suspected failure to protect minors, and in April the EC ordered it to suspend some of its services.

European Commission launches second investigation into TikTok for alleged violations of DSA - GIGAZINE

Leyen's comments were not official, but were merely one of the opinions that emerged during the debate. Politico reported that in addition to Leyen's comments, Marie-Agnès Strzok-Zimmermann, the leading candidate of the liberal Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), had also spoken negatively about the ban, saying, 'We have to see what happens in the United States.'

With the European Parliament elections coming up in June 2024, the European Parliament is using TikTok to raise awareness. President Leyen is herself the leading candidate for the center-right European People's Party (EPP), but she has indicated that she will not use TikTok for election campaigning due to security concerns.