Experts and politicians are concerned about the breakthrough of the Chinese app TikTok and its use of personal data. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition, calls for vigilance, but not a ban.
What if after the phones of civil servants, TikTok disappeared from the phones of all Internet users? In any case, this is not the will of Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition.
Guest of BFM Business, the Minister reaffirmed the government’s position on a ban on downloading “recreational” applications on the professional phones of civil servants.
“A lot of phone data is requested. There is a risk of leakage that we want to avoid,” says Jean-Noël Barrot.
“Be careful”
But what about ordinary users? The minister calls more for simple vigilance. “I say ‘vigilance’ in the digital space in general. Pay attention to the general conditions of use and to the data transmitted. You have to be aware of possible leaks when you accept the general conditions”, explains Jean-Noël Barrot.
“There is no question of suppressing the freedom to download a certain number of applications onto one’s personal telephone”, affirms the Minister Delegate for Digital.
To further comply with the data protection rules in force in Europe, TikTok has decided to set up data centers on the continent. A good thing according to Jean-Noël Barrot, who is satisfied with this announcement “in the spirit of the GDPR”. The Minister hopes that other publishers, especially American ones, will follow this example in the future.
Jean-Noël Barrot thus indicates that he has received a calendar from TikTok officials, which he nevertheless considers too extensive. “I would have liked things to go much faster,” admits the minister. An installation of servers in the European Union which will however in no way prevent the data of French users from being consulted from China.
