The Baltic Pays Intelligence All Pays have underlined it in their latest reports, Chinese influence is very worrying. This is why they are considering more and more to ban the Chinese network Tiktok. If Tiktok is less and less accessible, they aim for a wide ban.
Of our correspondent in the Baltic countries,
In 2023, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to prohibit the installation of the application Tiktok on the professional phones of its employees. An initiative made following a similar decision by the European Commission. Estonia followed the movement, prohibiting the application for all civil servants.
In Lithuaniano ban, but a strong recommendation from the authorities not to use this network which has just Chinain particular because the elements published on the network can be found in the hands of Chinese intelligence services.
Read tooThe European Commission asks its employees to uninstall Tiktok of their phones
Prohibit the network for everyone?
Last summer, a petition was launched on the Latton Mana Balss site, which means “my voice”. If the petition collects more than 10,000 votes, the Latvian parliament will be obliged to study it. In just over six months, half of the necessary signatures was collected. The reason for this initiative: Russian propaganda uses the Tiktok network to glorify war in Ukraine And spread your disinformation.
In mid-January, the Estonian Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs called for a general ban for the same reasons: Tiktok is one of the vectors of disinformation from Russia. We saw during the previous elections in Romania that Russia had used this network to interfere in the campaign and promote its candidate. In this region bordering on Russia, it worries.
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Disinformation, one of the threats pointed out by the authorities
The start of the year in the Baltic countries is the season for the publication of intelligence services. For example, in the Latvian report, an entire chapter is devoted to this subject: the Latvian authorities note that the Tiktok network has become a place where Russian propaganda are poured against the Baltics and the Ukrainians and pro-war propaganda. Another worrying fact: the authorities find that the level of verbal aggressiveness is higher than on the Facebook network.
As for China, it also uses the Tiktok platform in Baltic countries, mainly to restore its image to the Latvian population, and especially young people, since China supports Russia in its war against Ukraine. What the country is looking for, according to the Latvian authorities, is to shape a benevolent audience to implement its foreign policy objectives to weaken the links of Latvia with the European Union and the United States.
To listen in 8 billion neighborsShould Tiktok prohibit?