Berlin, Germany – In a move aimed at reaching a young audience, the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) is preparing to expand its presence on social media. They plan to launch an official account on the TikTok platform.
Parliament Speaker Julia Klöckner told the German Press Agency that the platform, despite criticism and concerns surrounding it, has become a major source of information for many people. She noted that “it is rare for young people today to own a paper newspaper.” Moreover, “if you ask them about the source of their information, the answer will be: TikTok.”
The platform is run by Chinese giant ByteDance and relies on publishing short videos. These videos are mostly entertaining but also include informational content. However, there are warnings of security risks and concerns related to data protection.
According to the German Federal Data Protection Office, TikTok is used by about 21 million people in Germany every month. Globally, the number of its users is more than 1.5 billion people.
It is worth noting that the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party was the first German party to launch a strong presence on TikTok. Meanwhile, the German government also uses the platform to communicate with the public.
