TikTok bans: ‘not possible’ for Japan to outlaw China-linked app – except ‘quietly’ on official devices

The Japanese government is under increasing pressure to broaden a ban on social networking services such as TikTok if there is evidence of such apps being used to influence public attitudes and promote disinformation.

A group of politicians from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party indicated this week that they plan to put forward a proposal in the coming weeks for the government to tighten regulations on apps that could mine data on users, damage national security or impact the nation’s economy.

Party member Norihiro Nakayama said that the new regulations “will help keep app operators in check” if a system “has been intentionally used by a certain party or a certain country for their influence operations with malice”.