EU ban on TikTok for employees raises more questions than answers

In the battle between big tech and big government, few institutions are more respected than the European Union (EU). While many politicians talk about fighting the ominous influence of tech companies on our lives, few actually take the tough action.

The UK, for example, has been talking about Internet safety legislation for years to limit the power of big tech, but has yet to implement it. The US often struggles more with internal political disputes than with the problems that big technology creates. The only body that spends more time acting than talking is the EU, which passed a law on digital services and digital markets while other countries were discussing it.

The EU, widely respected for its evidence-based approach to curbing big tech, inspires fear in the companies it fights. But a decision this week to ban TikTok from official phones used by European Commission employees has caused some confusion and raised questions about whether the company is now moving away from that approach.

“Interestingly, both the European Commission and the Council have implemented this ban on TikTok on personal devices without much explanation,” said Jessica Schurson, a professor of law at the University of Sussex.

The European Commission blocked questions about what changed in their perception of TikTok when journalists asked questions on Thursday and said it refuses to discuss cybersecurity issues. On request I If ordinary Europeans should have concerns about having the app on their phones, the spokesperson said: “We have no further comment on this matter.”

Asked about a similar issue at a press conference and whether the commission’s decision indicates TikTok is unsafe, spokesman Eric Mamer said: “We don’t say anything about it.”

All this paints a confusing picture. The Commission has confirmed that TikTok is the first app to be banned from the devices of EU workers, but it is not clear how the decision was made.

TikTok itself briefly got confused. This is what the rep says I He believes that “this suspension is erroneous and based on a fundamental misunderstanding.” The company learned about the ban on personal devices only from media reports.

The spokesperson added: “We are surprised that the Commission has not contacted us directly and provided no explanation – we asked for a meeting to fix how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU that every tag comes to TikTok. Month.”

Europe’s decision follows growing anti-TikTok sentiment around the world. Similar bans have been placed on the app in the United States as part of a growing concern over the global emergence of the first ubiquitous app outside of the country at both the state and federal levels.

The delay with those first US bans, which are in effect today but started in August 2020, says Ms Sheerson that the EU is not necessarily in a hurry. “This EU announcement comes at least 18 months after some of the actions taken in the US,” she says. “To me, that could at least mean it’s well thought out.”

The stakes associated with such decisions are enormous. More than a billion people worldwide use TikTok, which was originally developed in China and whose parent company ByteDance would rather say it’s based in the famous tax haven of the Cayman Islands than admit it has a connection to China.

These references to China have worried aggressive politicians, including in the UK, such as Iain Duncan Smith, who today urged ministers to avoid the app for security reasons.

A spokesman for the prime minister said on Friday that it is up to individual departments and ministers to decide which platforms to use.

However, there is no evidence that TikTok has revealed any secrets to the Chinese state – and the app representatives deny that they would hand over user data to the Chinese government even if they were asked to. According to Al Jazeera, when asked by cybersecurity officials in Connecticut, the FBI was unable to provide evidence supporting TikTok’s ban on government devices. Connecticut ultimately did not ban the app because there was no evidence that the app posed a risk to users.

However, TikTok is not entirely free from worries. December, Forbes reported that the app tracked a number of journalists as part of a covert surveillance campaign. And earlier, the app was caught sending applicants’ data to China.

“When it comes to geopolitical issues, we cannot ignore the fact that nation states around the world are increasingly turning to cyber empires to gather intelligence, influence and disrupt their adversaries,” said Toby Lewis, Global Head of Threat Intelligence at Dark trail. .

However, he is not sure whether the EU’s actions are proportionate to the risk. “By outright banning TikTok, the European Commission may be ignoring the fact that virtually every app developer and the government that hosts its servers can access the data collected through the app.”