Paris, July 7 (Agency) French senators have proposed that the government suspends Chinese video-sharing social platform TikTok in France and ask the European Commission to shut it down on the territory of the European Union unless the platform provides explanation how it is tied to its parent company, ByteDance, and what data is transferred to China by January 1, 2024, according to a document, published Thursday on the website of France’s upper house. The parliamentary commission’s investigation into the use of data provided by the social network resulted in 21 recommendations. One of the recommendations suggests obliging social media platforms to filter the content published during mass riots or calls to participate in them, as well as to prohibit employees of organizations necessary for the survival of the population from using TikTok.
Moreover, senators proposed that the social media platform strengthens measures to filter disinformation and content created by artificial intelligence, as well as to limit the time of use of the application for minors and conduct studies to identify the effects on the health of users. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the French authorities would identify those who called for protests through social media in light of the ongoing unrest triggered by the killing of a teenager. Later that day, French media reported that the government had met with representatives of social media due to unrest in the country. In particular, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications Jean-Noel Barrot reportedly warned platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter of their responsibility and asked for support identifying users involved in committing offenses. Earlier this week, Macron did not rule out that the French authorities can shut down social networks if the situation in the country deteriorates. France has been gripped by unrest since June 27, when a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by a police officer for failing to stop his car when ordered to do so in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. The officer who pulled the trigger on Nahel M. has been taken into custody for voluntary manslaughter, but that has not deterred the protesters.