Germany might be the first European country to prohibit TikTok, as lawmakers are considering this following a vote in the US. The TikTok app, owned by China, is currently under scrutiny by German politicians.
This comes after the US House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that could compel ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest the app or risk being completely removed from US app stores. The bill is now awaiting review by the US Senate.
Several members of a German parliamentary board overseeing intelligence services have recently expressed their views on this matter. Roderich Kiesewetter, the vice chairman of the Bundestag’s intelligence oversight committee and a member of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), suggested in an interview with the German daily Handelsblatt that Germany should contemplate a “comprehensive TikTok ban” if it’s not possible to “effectively enforce” stricter regulation of the platform.
Kiesewetter further stated that some German politicians view the app as a “threat to our democracy” because it serves as a “significant tool” in the hybrid warfare strategies of China and Russia.
Kiesewetter further stated that some German politicians view the app as a “threat to our democracy” because it serves as a “significant tool” in the hybrid warfare strategies of China and Russia. According to a 2023 government report presented in the Bundestag, TikTok has approximately 19 million users in Germany.
Jens Zimmerman, a member of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, proposed that the government should at least consider prohibiting the app on federal devices, a policy already in place within EU institutions.
However, others, such as Ralf Stegner from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Konstantin von Notz, the deputy leader of Germany’s Green Party, expressed a preference for exploring regulatory measures rather than implementing a total ban, which could be difficult to enforce.
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These regulatory efforts refer to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force this year. The Act mandates that internet companies consistently work to prevent the spread of disinformation and illegal content on their platform.
In February, the European Commission initiated an investigation into TikTok under the DSA for potential violations related to “the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access, and risk management of addictive design”. The Commission declined to comment on the ongoing TikTok ban bill in the United States or the discussions in Germany.
A spokesperson for the Commission stated that decisions regarding IT security measures are the responsibility of the relevant national authority. The spokesperson added that the DSA could, as a last resort, impose a temporary “suspension or restriction of access of recipients to the service,” if they fail to comply with the legislation. The Commission confirmed that the suspension of TikTok on corporate devices remains in effect.
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