Japanese MP Asks Government To Ban Use Of TikTok If Used For Disinformation Campaigns

Norihiro Nakayama, a member of the LDP, has asked TikTok to be banned. (photo: twitter @norihiron)

JAKARTA - Members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) plan to draft a proposal next month urging the government to ban social networking services like TikTok if they are used for disinformation campaigns. This was said by an LDP member on Monday, March 27.

Many US lawmakers have called on the Joe Biden administration to ban the popular Chinese social media app BuyeDance, arguing that it can be used for data collection, censoring content, and harming children's mental health.

"If it is verified that an application has been intentionally used by certain parties from a country for their influence operations with malicious intent..., then immediately stopping the service should be considered," Norihiro Nakayama told Reuters in an interview.

"Making it clear that operations can be stopped will help keep app operators in control as this will mean TikTok's 17 million users (in Japan), for example, will lose their access. This will also lead to a sense of security for users," added Nakayama.

Nakayama, a senior member of a group of government party lawmakers seeking ways to improve Japan's economic security, said the proposal would not target any specific platform.

A number of Western governments and institutions have banned TikTok in recent weeks, including the British parliament, the Dutch and Belgian administrations, and the New Zealand parliament.

In Japan, the use of TikTok and other social networking services is prohibited on government devices that handle classified information.

Nakayama said that further restrictions should be considered only after examining data handling and other operations.

"I believe we first need to make it possible for people on the outside to understand exactly how data is handled whenever a concern arises," said Nakayama.