The Bundestag is also concerned with data protection for popular social media apps from abroad. The Chinese social media app TikTok is not installed on the cell phones of employees of the Bundestag administration. That’s what Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) said to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
The situation is different with Instagram, which belongs to the Facebook group Meta. The SPD politician is active on Instagram in her capacity as President of the Bundestag. The data protection officer had already warned her about this, Bas admitted.
However, the Instagram channel @bundestagspraesidentin (around 4,200 followers) should continue to operate “for the time being”. “Many young voters only find out about politics with the help of social media. If we want to appeal to young people, we need social media,” Bas explained the decision. “Let’s withdraw, let’s leave the field to the populists.”
Bas called on the members of the Bundestag to be careful with social media apps. “I can only appeal here: Pay attention to the data!” said Bas. One must be aware that the data may be misused.
“You don’t always have control over what happens to your data,” Bas explained. After all, some of the servers are located abroad. “This is not only the case with TikTok, but also with Facebook or Instagram.”
Several states, including the United States, have banned their officials from using the Chinese short video app TikTok on service devices. Employees of the EU Commission and EU Parliament are also not allowed to use TikTok due to security concerns.
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