Macron slams TikTok algorithm over censorship, ‘addiction’

FONTAINE-LE-COMTE, France: French President Emmanuel Macron took aim at TikTok on Thursday, accusing the Chinese social network of censoring content and encouraging online addiction among young people.

“TikTok is the most disruptive (psychologically), the most effective network among young people,” the 44-year-old said during an event to discuss mental health. “This network is deceptively innocent,” he said before discussing its algorithms which help identify content to push to users.

“It knows very well what you like... pushes incredibly well made things that are much more creative than the American equivalents,” he said in Fontaine-le-Comte in central France. “Behind this, there´s a real addiction,” he added. He also said the platform kept off information banned by Chinese censors such as human rights violations in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.