A top EU official said Tuesday he understands U.S. President Donald Trumps concerns about TikTok and called for European data to be stored locally.
“The Trump administration is right to finally recognize that there is ownership on data. But for us, its not new,” Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an interview with POLITICO.
TikTok is facing a ban in the United States, as U.S. lawmakers fear the apps parent company ByteDance could give the Chinese government access to users data.
ByteDance is currently in talks to sell operations in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The company has reportedly decided on a suitor and could make an announcement this week, but Chinas new tech export control rules could mean Beijing would have to approve the deal.
As the U.S. has taken a tough stance on TikTok in the context of geopolitical rivalry with China, there have been no immediate signs that Europe will follow Washingtons lead. European governments are not looking to restrict the video-sharing app for now and Breton Tuesday ruled out an EU-wide ban. However, he insisted on the importance of how data is stored and processed.
“I am not in the business of banning any company, I am in the business Read More – Source
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