Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron did it before him. Olak Scholz opens an account on TikTok. The German Chancellor published a first video on the Chinese platform this Monday while TikTok is regularly singled out for the lack of protection of its users’ data,
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The video lasts about ten seconds. We see a black satchel placed on a sofa, before discovering Olaf Scholz sitting at his office in the chancery. The German Chancellor is not dancing: he made the promise on the X network, formerly Twitter, but his intention is to reach young people. By adding TikTok to its range of communication channels, the Chancellery first intends “ increase the provision of information to citizens » but will also allow “ to take a look behind the scenes of government work » said the Chancellor’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit.
A social media juggernaut
TikTok, whose parent company is ByteDance, is a juggernaut of video applications. smartphones, with more than a billion users every month. The principle of network – originally – consists of sharing brief dance videos or challenges of all kinds. A digital strike force that worries several Western capitals. Chinese authorities could have access to user data and take advantage of it to carry out propaganda. In France, senators pointed this out in an official report.
An essential platform?
The United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have banned TikTok on federally owned devices. But that doesn’t stop French and American heads of state from publishing their videos on TikTok, a platform that has become essential. So, Joe Biden opened an account in February 2024 in the hope of reaching young people in this election year for him. Which did not prevent him from issuing his “ worry » about the platform during a telephone interview with Xi Jinping in early April.
Eight billion neighborsShould TikTok be banned?