TikTok ban in EU is ‘not excluded,’ von der Leyen says

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted that banning TikTok in the European Union is an option, during a debate this evening in Maastricht, featuring parties' lead candidates for the bloc's 2024 election, Report informs referring to Politico.

"It is not excluded," von der Leyen said, after the moderator referred to the United States, where TikTok faces a national ban unless it is sold by its owner, ByteDance.

She immediately added that the Commission was "the very first institution worldwide to ban TikTok on our corporate phones."

"We know exactly the danger of TikTok."

Von der Leyen didn't appear in her capacity as Commission president in Maastricht, but as the lead candidate of the center-right European People's Party — but the remark comes amid a streak of bad news for TikTok in Europe.