EU move escalates business risks for China's TikTok

Significance

The same day, Canada's Privacy Commissioner announced an investigation into whether TikTok's data handling practices comply with national privacy laws. The two moves expand the geographical footprint of the pressure on TikTok.

Impacts

• The European Parliament will likely follow the Commission and Council in banning staff using TikTok.
• A blanket US ban would need legislation, as a Biden executive order would be as open to legal challenge as Trump's failed attempt.
• TikTok has raised its US federal lobbying spending to more than USD5mn a year, but Amazon and Facebook spend four times as much.