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Telecom watchdog weighs proposal to block TikTok in Russia

The TikTok app still works in Russia but does not have any content newer than two years old

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Association of Professional Social Media and Messenger Users has called on the national telecom watchdog to consider blocking the TikTok video platform in the country.

Today, TikTok’s user base in Russia is some 30 mln people. Experts believe that blocking the app would funnel this cohort over to Russian social media.

The watchdog has received the proposal and is deliberating on it, a spokesperson told TASS.

The TikTok app still works in Russia but does not have any content newer than two years old. According to a poll that the Association of Professional Social Media and Messenger Users conducted among the users of short-form video hosting services, 70% of people continue to use TikTok, some of them out of habit, while others just don’t pay attention to when videos are made.

The Association has asked the watchdog to check TikTok for the localization of user data (based on the Russian law On Personal Data). The Association points out that after the video hosting service committed to localize user data back in 2019, there have been no public reports of TikTok implementing the law. Besides, experts have failed to find evidence of the service complying with the law on the so-called recommendation algorithm.

If any violations are detected, the Association expects the watchdog to consider blocking access to TikTok in Russia. "The blocking will allow Russian social media networks dealing in short videos - VK Video, Yappy and Dzen among others - to increase their audience by 30 million people, while the professional community will get more subscribers on Russian platforms, meaning they will have more opportunities to make money," the Association emphasized.

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