The European Union has issued a warning to TikTok about permitting the dissemination of “illegal content” or “false information” regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
With this, the Chinese social media platform joins Meta (formerly Facebook) and Twitter in receiving such a warning from Brussels.
Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, expressed concerns in his message to Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok.
He stated that the platform is extensively used by children and teenagers and Chew has a specific responsibility to protect them from violent content. That appears to be spreading widely on the platform without any specific security measures, Breton added.
Breton’s message, which was posted on both Pluskai and X social media networks, continued by saying, “We have received reports from credible sources about content that may be illegal being circulated on your service despite warnings from relevant authorities.”
Furthermore, he emphasized the need to properly distinguish between reliable sources and terrorist propaganda, as many users, especially minors, rely on TikTok as a source of information.
Since Hamas launched its brutal surprise attack on Israel last Saturday morning, social media platforms have been flooded with disturbing videos depicting hostages, decapitated bodies, recorded killings, and extremely violent scenes, sometimes involving attempts at deception.
In his message, the European Commissioner referred to the circulation of “fake images and facts” as well as “false or misleading information.”
Similar to the messages sent to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, on Tuesday, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (Facebook, Instagram), on Wednesday, the European Commissioner reminded TikTok’s CEO of the platform’s responsibilities regarding content supervision and the removal of illegal content.
These responsibilities have become binding for digital platforms in the EU following the implementation of new European legislation related to digital services at the end of August.
