TikTok CEO to meet with EU decision makers over misinformation concerns

Shou Zi Chew, the chief executive of social media platform TikTok, will meet with key EU decision makers this week to address concerns from the bloc over concerns of misinformation on the app.

TikTok said that Chew, a former Goldman Sachs banker, will meet with EU industry chief Thierry Breton on 6 November, and EU digital chief Vera Jourova and EU antitrust chief Didier Reynders on 7 November.

Pre-existing concerns over the app have been heightened in recent weeks following Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October, with regulators scrutinising TikTok’s role in the proliferation of disinformation.

A spokesperson for TikTok said that Chew will discuss the company’s data security programme Project Clover, which saw the company start to store European user data locally this year. The company operates a data centre in Dublin, Ireland and will open two more in Ireland and Norway.

The spokesperson said that Chew will also brief the EU decision makers on how the company is compliant with the new Digital Service Act which requires Big Tech firms to do more to counter illegal and harmful online content on their platforms.

TkikTok was initially given a 25 October deadline by Breton to provide information on its crisis response measures. Breton also ordered TikTok to provide details on how it protects the integrity of elections and minors on its platform by 8 November.

Social media has become a key battleground in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Journalist Sophia Smith Galer on 21 October reported, based on analytics platform Semrush, that the Israeli foreign ministry spent "nearly $7.1 million" on YouTube advertising in the fortnight following the 7 October attack with most of the 1 billion-plus impressions occurring in France, Germany and the UK.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Bringing Teams to the table – Adding value by integrating Microsoft Teams with business applications
A decade ago, the idea of digital collaboration started and ended with sending documents over email. Some organisations would have portals for sharing content or simplistic IM apps, but the ways that we communicated online were still largely primitive.

Automating CX: How are businesses using AI to meet customer expectations?
Virtual agents are set to supplant the traditional chatbot and their use cases are evolving at pace, with many organisations deploying new AI technologies to meet rising customer demand for self-service and real-time interactions.