Europe and the U.S. are calling for a clamp down on TikTok, the social media platform which is particularly popular among the young. But in their spare time, their officials are setting up profiles on the app and sharing short videos in the hope of winning over these very same newly-able-to-vote audiences.
The European Commission is beginning its second round of formal proceedings against Chinese-owned TikTok which could see it ban the app’s ‘Lite’ reward plan. Brussels officials say the scheme, which allows users to collect Amazon vouchers and PayPal gift cards if they engage with a high amount of content, could have addictive effects, especially for young—that is, most—TikTokers.
Ironically, it seems possible that users of the ‘Lite’ programme could receive rewards by engaging with content created by and shared on the European Parliament’s own TikTok account. Indeed, while the Parliament banned its staff from using TikTok in 2023 due to Chinese security fears, it later set up a profile to “get the message across” ahead of this year’s elections.
And while there has long been talk that Germany could be the first country in Europe to ban the app altogether, Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined the platform himself just this month. That is, in the same month that the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned about the “TikTokisation of Islamism,” with “children and young people” being targeted by “extremists, including Islamists and Salafist preachers.” But don’t worry—he promises that “I will not dance.”
America’s record is hardly any better in all this. It was reported over the weekend that the U.S. House of Representatives is pushing through legislation that would see TikTok being banned in the country unless it moves away from ByteDance, its Chinese parent company.
The news might prompt some to ask why President Joe Biden—much like his European counterparts—himself has a profile. The tagline of his first video—“lol hey guys”—suggests it is not because he is seeking to raise the bar of political discussion. Perhaps the answer lies, once again, in the coming of a major election.
