Olaf Scholz Joins TikTok: An Inevitable Platform or a Threat to Privacy?
Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron did it before him. Olaf Scholz opens an account on TikTok. The German Chancellor posted his first video on the Chinese platform this Monday, while TikTok is regularly criticized for its lack of user data protection.
The video lasts just about ten seconds. It shows a black backpack on a couch, before revealing Olaf Scholz seated at his desk in the chancellor's office. The German Chancellor doesn't dance: he made the promise on the X network, formerly known as Twitter, but his intention is to reach out to the youth. By adding TikTok to his array of communication channels, the Chancellor's office aims primarily to "expand the information offering to citizens," but it will also allow "a glimpse behind the scenes of governmental work," said the Chancellor's spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit.
A social media giant
TikTok, whose parent company is ByteDance, is a smartphone application giant, with over a billion users each month. The network's principle -originally- is to share brief dance videos or challenges of all kinds. A digital force that worries several Western capitals. Chinese authorities could access user data and use it for propaganda. In France, senators pointed this out in an official report.
An inevitable platform?
The United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have banned TikTok on devices belonging to the federal government. But that doesn't stop the French and American heads of state from posting their videos on TikTok, a platform that has become unavoidable. Thus, Joe Biden opened an account in February 2024 hoping to reach out to young people in this election year for him. This didn't stop him from expressing his "concern" about the platform during a phone call with Xi Jinping in early April.
Lire aussi
Latest News
- 17:25 Iran's President Offers Olive Branch: Direct Talks with US on the Table
- 17:00 Unveiling the Mystery: Elon Musk's Stealth Project with Tesla
- 16:44 UK PM Starmer Seeks Immigration Strategies from Italy’s Meloni
- 16:20 Morocco: A Rising Star in Global Cybersecurity, Leading the Way in Digital Resilience
- 15:50 Unrelenting Storms Forecast: Morocco Braces for a Week of Turbulence
- 15:33 A Son's Plea: Unraveling the Motives Behind the Florida Golf Course Incident
- 15:20 Morocco's Security Measures: A Strategic Response to Migration Challenges