French MPs push to ban TikTok, force an ultimatum
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This comes after the French government blamed social media for aggravating the protests in the nation days ago.
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A man shows a smartphone with the logo of the social network TikTok in this file illustration photo taken in Nantes, western France, on Jan 21, 2021 (AFP)
French lawmakers demanded Thursday that the government prohibit the video-sharing app TikTok unless it discloses its ties to China, just days after the government accused social media of igniting recent protests.
A Senate panel of inquiry established to investigate TikTok's data management and "influence strategy" recommended in its final conclusions that the company be given until January 1 to explain its position or be banned in France and other areas in Europe possibly.
The commission went through months of hearings and interrogated TikTok executives over the network's ownership structure and also warned the platform needed to enhance content monitoring and implement "effective" age limitations or risk suspension.
The commission holds no legal bind on the government, but public opinion on social media has hardened after President Emmanuel Macron threatened to "cut them off" if the country experiences widespread riots as it has in recent days.
Andre Gattolin, vice-chairman of the committee, accused TikTok of being a political enterprise "with the aim of capturing personal data."
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said enforcing social media blackouts and censoring posts should remain an option "when things get out of hand” in the country.
Macron accused the youth of using platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat to organize protests across France after a teenager was shot by police in a Paris suburb last week.
“We need to think about how young people use social networks … when things get out of hand, we may have to regulate them or cut them off," Macron stated.
Read more: Riot vs protest: The West's exploitation of media hegemony
The French President asked social media companies last week to maintain a “sense of responsibility” and remove posts deemed sensitive by the government, especially those calling for or recording violent protests.
French ministers met with representatives of TikTok and Snapchat last Friday to try and push the platforms to prohibit content showing footage of the protests or supporting them.
This comes amid ongoing protests against the killing of 17-year-old Nahel Marzouk at the hands of police in Hauts-de-Seine on June 27, which left France in unrest as overnight protests roamed the country in all its corners.
Nahel was shot in the chest at point-blank range on Tuesday in the western region of Paris after he was pulled over for allegedly breaking traffic rules in a yellow Mercedes.
