After US and India, EU consumers' group raises concern over TikTok's safety

Chinese video-based application TikTok continues to face global scrutiny after the United States and India cracked down on the app for its alleged links with the Chinese government, and for concerns over user data.

Now, the European Union has also issued a warning to TikTok users. On Tuesday, Europe’s consumer campaign group The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said that the app is breaching the rights of users “on a massive scale”.

In a statement, the organisation claimed that a probe ought to be launched in terms of the app’s “unfair” copyright policy and virtual coins. In addition, the BEUC took into account that the application has no protection mechanisms in place for children and teenagers who may be exposed to harmful content or harmful advertising.

Also read: ByteDance explores sale of Indian TikTok assets to rival firm Glance

“In just a few years, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps with millions of users across Europe. But TikTok is letting its users down by breaching their rights," Monique Goyens, the BEUC’s director general, was cited as saying by Bloomberg. In addition, Goyens said that a complaint in this regard has been filed with the European Commission and national consumer-protection authorities.

Also read: After TikTok, Biden team seeks pause in litigation over WeChat ban in US

EU’s data authorities are also investigating TikTok for how the app handles the personal information of children. In 2020, former US President Donald Trump had attempted to ban the application, prompting authorities to look into the safety imbued in the app.

The BEUC claims that the copyright terms of TikTok are unfair for the company has no provision to pay users for the content they upload on the app, and instead the company reserves the right to use the videos as it pleases. In addition, the BEUC raised concerns over TikTok selling coins for virtual presents.