TikTok ban? DICT says basis needed

MANILA, Philippines — The National Security Council (NSC) should have a basis to impose a ban on Chinese micro vlogging and e-commerce platform TikTok, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy said yesterday.

The NSC has persisted in raising calls to ban TikTok in the country on concerns of cyber espionage, even as thousands of Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and affiliate e-marketers have gone on TikTok to sell and market their products and brands, generating millions of pesos from online selling and marketing.

“There has to be some basis to do that,” Uy said, noting that the NSC should conduct a proper investigation and a study of the technology of Tiktok.?But before making a decision to push for a ban on Tiktok, Uy said the NSC should first invite the platform to explain their technology.

“Maybe before making a decision like that, (they could) probably have TikTok come and explain to us their technology, the basis for this kind of concern if there is any,” Uy said, adding that NSC should also not single out TikTok.

“I think, it’s not just that particular social media platform. All social media platforms. If you would see, a lot of the social media platforms are abused. Used for disinformation, used for fake news. And so, we need to sit down and work with all our social media partners. See how we can properly address this growing concern,” Uy said.

“Because, I’m sure our social media providers are not, I mean they are there for the business. I don’t think they foresee themselves as enablers of criminal activity,” Uy said.

Uy pointed out that the DICT had signed an agreement with social media giants last month to collaborate on addressing concerns that emerge on their respective platforms.