TikTok faces potential ban in EU amid safety concerns

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has hinted at banning TikTok in the European Union (EU).  

She made the relevant remark during a debate in Maastricht on April 30 evening, featuring parties' lead candidates for the bloc's 2024 election, according to Politico.

"It is not excluded," von der Leyen said, after the moderator referred to the United States, where TikTok faces a national ban unless it is sold by its owner, ByteDance.

She immediately added that the Commission was "the very first institution worldwide to ban TikTok on our corporate phones. "

"We know exactly the danger of TikTok."

Von der Leyen didn't appear in her capacity as Commission president in Maastricht, but as the lead candidate of the centre-right European People's Party — but the remark comes amid a streak of bad news for TikTok in Europe.

Last week, TikTok decided to suspend a feature that rewarded users for interacting with the TikTok Lite app, after the Commission started looking into the feature under the bloc's content-moderation rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA).

TikTok faces a separate probe — also under the DSA — for alleged failures to protect minors. Under the DSA, the Commission can order the temporary suspension of a service as a last resort in any case.

Other candidates at the debate were more noncommittal. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the lead candidate for the liberal ALDE party, said we have to see "what happens there" when talking about TikTok.

Von der Leyen herself is reportedly avoiding TikTok while campaigning for a second term.

TikTok didn't respond to a request a comment in time for publication.