Will Europe Ban TikTok Now?

April 30

	European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hasn't ruled out the possibility of Europe banning TikTok, echoing concerns raised by the US's legislative moves against the platform. The potential for a European ban arose during a debate in Maastricht, where von der Leyen highlighted the danger of TikTok, mentioning the European Commission's prior ban on corporate phones. An investigation initiated by the European Commission into a rewards feature for TikTok Lite led to the app voluntarily suspending the program, pending examination under the recently passed Digital Services Act (DSA). TikTok is also under scrutiny for its failure to protect minors under the DSA rules. The DSA imposes legal obligations on TikTok to address systemic risks to children's safety and mental health, which it allegedly failed to do with its new gamified feature. Violations of the DSA could result in penalties of up to 6% of a company's global annual turnover. Recently, President Biden signed a bill requiring ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, to fully divest from the platform within a nine-month to a year timeline, potentially leading to legal challenges. This legislation would mandate Apple and Google to remove access to the TikTok app from their respective app stores. However, even if a ban were to be implemented in the US, tech-savvy users may resort to using VPNs to bypass restrictions, as observed with similar bans in certain US states. Source: www.digitalmusicnews.com