After being fined €530 million for illegally sending European users’ data to China (see EUROPE 13632/1), the digital platform TikTok came in for lengthy criticism from MEPs late on Wednesday 7 May during a debate at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg.
The issue of data security has become central in recent years, with the rise of artificial intelligence and the upsurge in cyber attacks (see EUROPE 13586/19).
TikTok’s conviction has rekindled the debate about banning the platform from minors, or even buying it out by a European entity whose privacy policy would be aligned with European values and rules.
Several MEPs also raised the problem inherent in network algorithms and the way they operate. “It’s not a question of freedom of expression, the algorithms ‘boost’ all extreme and false content. We need to talk about algorithms, not democratic problems”, said Moritz Körner (Renew Europe, German), in response to the far-right’s accusations of censorship against the European Commission.
A number of radical MEPs opposed the penalty imposed on TikTok head-on, as well as the European desire to better regulate the use of European users’ data.
The European Commissioner for Justice and the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, mentioned the future Digital Fairness Act, originally scheduled for 2026, which is intended to fill the gaps in current legislation, particularly on the issue of addictive network design. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)