Ashish Ranjan
Cyber security threats: Thursday, the European Union Commission prohibited the use of the Chinese brief video-sharing application TikTok on corporate phones. EU industry chief Thierry Breton verified the development, citing a focus on cybersecurity as the reason for the move.
The EU executive was quoted by Reuters as saying, “To enhance its cybersecurity, the Commission’s Corporate Management Board has decided to suspend the use of the TikTok application on its corporate devices and on personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile device service.”
“This measure seeks to protect the Commission from cybersecurity threats and actions that could be used to launch cyberattacks against the Commission’s corporate environment,” he said.In the meantime, the EU stated that no pressure from the United States played a role in the decision to require employees to remove TikTok from corporate phones.
Tiktok Response
The Chinese short video-sharing application stated that it was disappointed with the Commission’s decision because it was “misguided and founded on fundamental misunderstandings.”
Reuters quoted a company spokesperson as saying, “We’ve contacted the Commission to set the record straight and explain how we safeguard the data of the 125 million EU residents who visit TikTok every month.”
EU’s strict rules
Last week, media reports that tech titans including Facebook, Google, Twitter, and TikTok will be subject to stricter online content regulations in the European Union began to circulate.
The new regulations, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), classify companies with more than 45 million users as very large online platforms (VLOPs) and mandate risk management and external and independent auditing.In addition, they will be required to share data with authorities and researchers and adhere to a code of conduct.
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The European Commission gave search engines and online platforms until February 17 to report their monthly active users.Those identified as VLOPs have four months to comply with the regulations or face penalties.
