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Companies TikTok FollowBRUSSELS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - TikTok must "spare no effort" to counter the spread of disinformation on the short video sharing app, EU industry chief Thierry Breton told the company's CEO on Monday, as the European Union steps up its efforts to curb the powers of Big Tech. "My services and I are now investigating whether this is enough to ensure compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act)," Breton told Reuters in written comments after a video call with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. "Because now more than ever, we must spare no effort to protect our citizens – especially children and teenagers – against illegal content and disinformation," he said. TikTok Public Policy Director Caroline Greer said in a post on social media platform X that the company was pleased that Breton recognised its compliance efforts. The DSA requires large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful online content on their platforms.

Persons: Thierry Breton, China's ByteDance, Breton, Shou Zi Chew, Caroline Greer, Chew, Vera Jourova, Didier Ryenders, Foo Yun Chee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Big Tech, DSA, Services, Reuters, Big, EU, Values, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, European, Breton, Big Tech, Brussels

☆ EU bans TikTok on government phones as national security concerns grow from Western lawmakers. TikTok says it feels blindsided by the lack of 'due process.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Western lawmakers have expressed concerns over TikTok's cybersecurity threats in recent years. The EU joins other authorities to ban the app from staff phones over cybersecurity concerns. EU staff members will also have to remove TikTok from their personal devices if those devices access corporate services, Reuters also reported. Western lawmakers and cybersecurity experts have grown wary of the security threats TikTok may pose in recent years. More than half of US states have banned TikTok from government devices, Insider previously reported.

☆ TikTok accuses EU of keeping it in the dark over staff phone ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - TikTok accused the European Commission on Friday of failing to consult it over a decision to ban the Chinese short video sharing app from staff phones on cybersecurity grounds, a move subsequently followed by another top EU body. The EU executive and the EU Council, which brings together representatives of the member states to set policy priorities, said on Thursday staff will also be required to remove TikTok from personal mobile devices that have access to corporate services. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on TikTok's statement. Greer said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who met EU industry chief Thierry Breton and other commissioners in Brussels in January, was "concerned and a little puzzled". Other EU institutions should do their own research before making decisions on the app, Greer said.

☆ EU executive arm bars employees from using TikTok, citing security risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok Inc., speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, banned its employees from using TikTok on their smartphones amid concerns from Western governments about the risks the platform may pose to national security. The commission said staff would no longer be able to have the Chinese-owned app installed on corporate and personal devices, citing concerns over how it handles user data. TikTok has admitted that data on its European users can be accessed by employees based in China, but denies it would ever share such information with the Chinese government. "We are continuing to enhance our approach to data security — establishing three data centres in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe."

☆ TikTok shut down 2 networks of pro-Russian influencers who tried to mislead users about the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok uncovered two networks of pro-Russian TikTokers last year, TikTok said in a report on Thursday. They used speech synthesis software to spread pro-Russian propaganda in various languages. The accounts amassed more than 133,000 followers before being identified and removed by TikTok between July and September last year. In its report, TikTok said that Russia's "war of aggression" in Ukraine has "challenged us to confront a complex and rapidly changing environment." In a blog post that accompanied the report, TikTok public policy director Caroline Greer said the platform was able to help find innovative solutions to these "long-standing industry challenges."

☆ TikTok promises to ramp up fight against disinformation in EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Chinese social media company TikTok on Thursday pledged to do more to tackle disinformation on its platform by adding more safety features and broadening its fact-checking measures, spurred by the role played by state-controlled media and the war in Ukraine. Presenting its progress report on what it did to live up to a beefed-up EU code of practice on disinformation in the past six months, the company acknowledged the need to step up its efforts. TikTok would expand its state-controlled media labels, ramp up action against disinformation linked to Ukraine, expand its fact-checking programme across Europe to include more language coverage, and scale up the volume of claims it fact-checked, she said. The company would also strengthen its approach to disinformation in its advertising policies. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TikTok expects to be subject to stricter EU online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Chinese social media company TikTok is likely to be subject to stricter EU online content rules because its number of active users exceed a threshold set out under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a senior executive at the company said on Wednesday. The landmark rules take a tougher line on very large online platforms, characterising these as companies with more than 45 million users. Online platforms and search engines are due to report their user numbers on Feb. 17, allowing the European Commission to designate which are the very large online platforms and very large online search engines. In 2020, TikTok said its number of users in Europe topped 100 million. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Comply with EU rules or face ban, Breton tells TikTok CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We will not hesitate to adopt the full scope of sanctions to protect our citizens if audits do not show full compliance," Breton said. TikTok said in response that it was committed to the DSA, and had also outlined its efforts to comply with other EU legislation, such as GDPR data protections rules and a code of practice on disinformation. "The safety of our users is paramount," Caroline Greer, TikTok's director of public policy and government relations, tweeted. It is not acceptable that behind seemingly fun and harmless features, it takes users seconds to access harmful and sometimes even life-threatening content," Breton said. "The DSA includes dissuasive sanctions including a ban in the EU in case of repeated serious breaches threatening the life or safety of people," he said.

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