CASE STUDY TIKTOK FORBIDDEN TO EU COMMISSION MEMBERS The European Commission ban In February 2023, The European Commission the use of TikTok on the official devices used by their staff to access the online Commission services. The Commission, moreover, strongly recommended a stop in the use of the app also on the staff members’ private devices if they were employed to access the Commission services. They asked their staff to uninstall the app; if it remained installed on the devices, they would not be enabled to access the Commission services anymore. The reason for the ban, which follows a similar decision taken some months before by the USA Government, is related to cybersecurity concerns, in particular regarding data protection and collection. Some months before the ban, TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance, had admitted that their staff in China was able to access TikTok users’ personal data. TikTok’s managers, however, replied that those bans were based on misinformation about the company, and they claimed they had contacted the Commission to explain how they had actually protected the data of millions of people across the EU who had accessed TikTok every month. banned The decisions of European countries and the position of Italy Following the concerns raised by the American Government, some European countries, such as Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, have forbidden the use of TikTok to members of Government staff, both on Government and on personal devices. In Italy, the TikTok managers operating in the Italian ByteDance assured the Government that the company would respect the European laws in matter of privacy and transfer of data to other countries, China in particular, and would intensify cooperation with the Government to grant and increase cybersecurity. As a consequence, the use of TikTok has not been forbidden to members of Government staff. branch 4 Complete the sentences with no more than four words. The use of TikTok ....................................... the European Commission on their official devices. A stop in the use of the app on the staff personal devices ....................................... . The staff was then asked ....................................... . If they did not uninstall the app, the staff would not have access ....................................... services anymore. The first to ban TikTok for its staff was ....................................... . TikTok belongs to ByteDance, which is a ....................................... . The USA Government was concerned about ....................................... . Belgium, ....................................... have also forbidden the use of TikTok to Government staff members. ByteDance managers working in Italy said that the company ....................................... laws concerning privacy. ....................................... has not been forbidden in Italy. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. GLOSSARY : vietare : filiale to ban branch