French TikTok block in overseas territory sets ‘dangerous precedent,’ critics warn (original) (raw)
An unexpected and drastic measure to cut off access to the app in New Caledonia marks an EU first.
No such shutdowns have ever been recorded within the EU. | Delphine Mayeur/AFP via Getty Images
PARIS — In a first-of-its-kind move within the European Union, the French government has moved to block TikTok in one of its overseas territories amid widespread protests.
A French draft law, passed Monday, would let citizens vote in local elections after 10 years' residency in New Caledonia, prompting opposition from independence activists worried it will dilute the representation of indigenous people. The violent demonstrations that have ensued in the South Pacific island of 270,000 have killed at least five people and injured hundreds.
In response to the protests, the government suspended the popular video-sharing app — owned by Beijing-based ByteDance and favored by young people — as part of state-of-emergency measures alongside the deployment of troops and an initial 12-day curfew.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal didn’t detail the reasons for shutting down the platform. The local telecom regulator began blocking the app earlier on Wednesday.
"It is regrettable that an administrative decision to suspend TikTok's service has been taken on the territory of New Caledonia, without any questions or requests to remove content from the New Caledonian authorities or the French government," a TikTok spokesperson said.
"Our security teams are monitoring the situation very closely and ensuring that our platform remains safe for our users. We are ready to engage in discussions with the authorities.”
Digital rights NGO Quadrature du Net on Friday contested the TikTok suspension with France’s top administrative court over a “particularly serious blow to freedom of expression online."
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal didn’t detail the reasons for shutting down TikTok. | Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images
A growing number of authoritarian regimes worldwide have resorted to internet shutdowns to stifle dissent. This unexpected — and drastic — decision by France's center-right government comes amid a rise in far-right activism in Europe and a regression on media freedom.
“France’s overreach establishes a dangerous precedent across the globe. It could reinforce the abuse of internet shutdowns, which includes arbitrary blocking of online platforms by governments around the world,” said Eliška Pírková, global freedom of expression lead at Access Now.
The measure coincides with an escalation in President Emmanuel Macron's position on the harmful effects of social media. After floating the idea of a shutdown during protests last year, Macron described regulating the internet as “a cultural and civilizational fight” in a landmark speech in April.
Paris warms up to social media blocks
Macron tested the idea of suspending social media apps like Snapchat and TikTok last July in a closed-door meeting with French mayors amid violent nationwide protests after a police officer killed a teenager.
"[We need to think about] the decisions we make, including administrative decisions, when things get out of hand, so that at some point we can say we're in a position to regulate or cut them off,” he said in a speech at the time.
The idea of blocking social media amid the demonstrations was ultimately binned. “It was clear to me that if we went down this path, we’d become like China,” Hervé Saulignac, a Socialist member of the National Assembly, told POLITICO.
While never officially endorsed by the government, blocking social media during times of crisis has entered the French national debate, and is backed by the right.
A parliamentary report in April, led by center-right Senator François-Noël Buffet, advised the law be expanded to allow authorities to request that social media apps suspend some functions — such as geolocating and livestreaming — during riots.
The Interior Ministry told POLITICO the decision to block TikTok was made locally by the high commissioner of New Caledonia, “with the Constitutional tools at his disposal.”
A 1955 state of emergency law enables the Interior Ministry to take “any measure to ensure the interruption of any online public communication service that incites or condones acts of terrorism.”
The French government has moved to block TikTok. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A first in Europe
The French government hasn’t formally specified why it singled out TikTok for a block.
Philippe Gomes, the former president of New Caledonia's government, told POLITICO the decision aimed to stop protesters from "organizing reunions and protests" through the app.
The government on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of meddling in the riots, but a French intelligence official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive national security issues, said foreign interference hadn't played a decisive factor in TikTok's suspension.
Viginum, France’s unit tracking foreign information manipulation, said on Friday it detected thousands of coordinated posts spreading disinformation accusing French police of killing pro-independence protesters in New Caledonia on X and Facebook from accounts connected to Azerbaijan.
Some lawyers questioned whether the decision would stand up in court, while the shutdown has prompted alarm among human- and digital-rights campaigners.
“It's deeply unsettling that the French government is normalizing such measures,” said Chantal Joris, senior legal officer at NGO Article 19. "Such actions shield governments from accountability, cultivate a culture of impunity, and ultimately exacerbate human rights violations.”
Access Now reported this week that a record number of shutdowns had occurred last year: 283 in 39 countries, the highest number since it began monitoring such measures in 2016.
No such shutdowns have ever been recorded within the EU. National courts now can, however, order the suspension of online platforms in extreme cases under the EU's content-moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said last year the DSA couldn't be used for arbitrary shutdowns after dozens of NGOs called on the Commission to reject such scenarios. New Caledonia, as an overseas territory governed by France, is not subject to EU law.
“Access Now strongly condemns the ban and calls on the French government to immediately lift the TikTok ban in New Caledonia,” said Access Now's Pírková.
“Banning online platforms and other forms of internet shutdowns are never a proportionate measure and impose disastrous consequences for people’s safety.”
Clothilde Goujard reported from Brussels.
This article has been updated.