Why TikTok’s influence worries Europe – and why Switzerland is not immune 

In January, the United States almost banned TikTok altogether due to surveillance and national security concerns. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

The Chinese-owned video platform TikTok faces bans and investigations abroad for using powerful algorithms to influence elections and spread harmful content. Despite growing concerns over youth mental health and democracy – especially after Germany’s far-right surge – Switzerland has ruled out a ban. 

With its addictive short-form video content, TikTok entertains billions of people around the world. But it’s also alarmed authorities in the United States and Europe. After coming close to a ban in the US over espionage fears, it now faces investigations in the European Union for its potential to spread harmful content and influence elections.  

Researchers are also examining the role of its recommendation algorithms in the rise of Germany’s far-right Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD), which doubled its support during the country’s recent federal elections and enjoys high visibility on the app.  

These concerns extend to neighbouring Switzerland, where TikTok has over 2 million users, 75% of them aged between 12 and 19 years. In January, the app’s parent company, ByteDance, registered in Zurich, a sign that it’s likely to expand its presence in the Alpine country, although its plans remain undisclosed. 

Unlike the EU, Switzerland has yet to regulate major tech platforms and has so far ruled out banning TikTok. “Cybersecurity is the responsibility of companies and private individuals,” says a spokesperson for the Swiss National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC).

Recently, however, the Swiss government declared that it is considering banning TikTok for minors under the age of 16. Experts warn that the platform’s reach and algorithm pose risks to democracy and public health. 

“In a direct democracy, assessing platforms’ effects on public opinion and ensuring access to reliable information is crucial,” says Estelle Pannatier, policy manager at the Swiss NGO AlgorithmWatch CH. 

Democracy at risk 

Concerns about TikTok’s impact on democracy are growing. In Germany’s recent parliamentary elections, the AfD secured the second-highest number of votes – and was highly visible on TikTok. 

“The AfD has more views and fan accounts on TikTok than other parties,” says Anna Katzy-Reinshagen, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in Berlin. 

Katzy-Reinshagen and other researchers have examined the role of TikTok’s algorithm in spreading misinformation and amplifying certain political content. Their analysisExternal link found that 49% of the top five political videos played were from the AfD, and many election-related posts lacked the disclaimer recommended by the European Commission to indicate political advertising. 

Another studyExternal link, this one by investigative organisation Global Witness, found that TikTok’s algorithm heavily promoted pro-AfD content – even to non-partisan users – ahead of the elections. 

German political parties such as the Social Democratic Party and the left-wing Die Linke also developed a presence on TikTok heading into the February elections. But their content was far less visible than that of right-leaning parties.   

This is not new: the AfD was already the strongest partyExternal link and the most frequently suggestedExternal link in the search bar of the Chinese social media app ahead of the 2024 regional and European elections, where it gained support among 18–24-year-olds.  

Swiss Green Party parliamentarian Meret Schneider fears that a similar phenomenon could happen in Switzerland. Like in Germany, Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party gets more attention on TikTokExternal link than its competitors, despite its early-stage presence on the platform. In an interviewExternal link with the Tages- Anzeiger newspaper, Schneider called for “urgent” regulation of social platforms. 

TikTok may also harm Swiss youth  

Concerns about TikTok aren’t limited to politics. Recently, Swiss cantonal authorities expressed worries about a challenge from the US that encouraged young people to take excessive doses of the common painkiller paracetamol via videos on TikTok.  

An investigation by Swiss public television SRFExternal link revealed how, by serving videos based on extensive user-behaviour data, the platform’s algorithm could amplify feelings of sadness and depression. “If someone reacts to sad or depressive content, TikTok’s algorithm will recommend even more of it,” says Lion Wedel, a researcher at the Weizenbaum Institut in Berlin who is analysing the platform. 

Documents uncovered in the U.S. last yearExternal link indicate that TikTok was aware of the risks associated with its recommendation algorithms but did not act to curb those effects. 

The University of Zurich is also looking into the possible link between TikTok videos and the levels of drinking and smoking among teenagers in Switzerland. “Many videos show young people having fun among friends with a glass [of alcohol] or a cigarette in their hand,” says Thomas Friemel, a media use professor. 

The results of this researchExternal link, involving around 1,500 teenagers from all over Switzerland, will be published in the autumn.

Worrying algorithms 

Many social media apps use recommendation algorithms, but TikTok’s sophisticated AI and massive reach make it more worrisome than other platforms for experts studying its effects. 

“TikTok is unique,” says Wedel. “It adapts in real time to the user, whereas other platforms are much slower.” The researcher, who is analysing data donated by 350 TikTok and 120 Instagram users, found that the Chinese platform collects more information than its competitors to refine feed personalisation.  

TikTok stores users’ watched videos for up to three months and tracks up to 6,000 past likes, regardless of age. It also collects all user activity – such as watch time, pauses and engagement – and retains it for months. Customisation of recommended content is achieved through powerful machine-learning algorithms that process all this information in real time. “Tiktok’s data is the most detailed,” says Wedel. 

Another feature of TikTok is that it interprets not only explicit interactions (likes, comments, follows), but also implicit ones. “It tries to understand what catches our attention, even for a few milliseconds,” says Martin Degeling, a computer scientist for the NGO AI Forensics, which investigates opaque algorithms. This ability to personalise the feed in a highly targeted way is what makes TikTok so innovative and engaging, says Degeling. 

What Swiss platform regulation might look like 

Swiss users enjoy partial protection thanks to the European Digital Services Act, which prohibits targeted ads for minors, mandates transparency in recommendation algorithms, and requires platforms to remove illegal content swiftly   

But Pannatier of AlgorithmWatch believes this is not enough to protect Swiss users. “Regulation in Switzerland is essential,” says the activist. 

Pannatier supports greater transparency in how platforms recommend and moderate content, and how they target specific groups of users.  A bill going in this direction was expected last yearExternal link, but the Swiss government continues to delay it. A spokesperson for the Federal Department of Communications (DETEC) says it’s unclear how or when the bill will proceed. 

Some countries, like India, have banned TikTok altogether, while others including the U.S., Canada, and several European nations have restricted its use on government devices. 

Switzerland’s decision to not ban the app came despite the fact that a 2023 reportExternal link by the country’s National Test Institute for Cybersecurity had highlighted risks related to the extensive rights that users can grant to the platform and frequent localisation, which make surveillance “technically possible”. However, the test found no evidence of vulnerability or user monitoring, and this was enough to rule out a ban, according to Swiss authorities.  

Degeling of AI Forensics warns that without regulation, small countries like Switzerland will find it harder to act against platform abuses: “If a specific threat spreads on TikTok, it will be more difficult for Switzerland to counter it”. 

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Edited by Gabe Bullard and Veronica De Vore/gw