France begins preliminary investigation into TikTok’s psychological impact

The Paris prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday that it has opened a preliminary investigation into TikTok following a report from a parliamentary investigative committee into the psychological impact the Chinese app has on young people.

Last September, Rep. Arthur Delaporte submitted a report to the Prosecutor’s Office under Article 40, highlighting in particular ‘TikTok’s insufficient moderation, easy access to minors and sophisticated algorithms that very quickly trap vulnerable people in exclusive content loops, potentially driving them to suicide.’

In particular, the investigation concerns the crime of providing an online platform to facilitate illicit trade carried out by organized groups and the crime of promoting products, objects or methods advocated as means of suicide, Paris prosecutor Laure Vequo said in a statement.