Von der Leyen to avoid TikTok in very ‘personal’ campaign

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will not be using TikTok in her campaign for June’s EU elections, “in view of security concerns,” her campaign chief spokesperson said, despite her aim to reach citizens with an innovative and personal touch.

Von der Leyen is the lead candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), and she will be campaigning in “as many countries as possible” to rally support for national member parties, Alexander Winterstein said on Friday (26 April).

She is not running for the European Parliament but only for her reelection as the Commission’s president.

One of her campaign’s strategies is to make her tone of voice “personal” and “dynamic” so that people know who von der Leyen is apart from her work as Commission president: “It should not be more of the same,” Winterstein said.

“What people may know less about is who she is as a person, you will see quite some personal elements during this campaign,” he added. 

Von der Leyen, a former German defence minister who became a surprise choice to lead the Commission in 2019, launched her campaign logo and image this week:

The EPP party will not be using TikTok, a social media platform used by the younger generations mostly between the ages 18-34, even though it has an account, unused since May last year.

However, the European Green Party is using TikTok, as well as the Party of European Socialists (PES) who have been regularly posting videos of their lead candidate, Nicolas Schmit.

In February, Euractiv reported that the European Parliament is preparing to use TikTok in their “use your vote” campaign, although the Parliament and the Commission banned it from corporate devices last year due to cybersecurity concerns.

At the end of February, the Parliament posted its first video on TikTok, while the ban on using the platform on institutional devices is still in place.

The first ban on the Chinese-owned social media application occurred in the European Commission when the IT service requested staff to uninstall TikTok from corporate devices in February 2023.

In February 2024, Euractiv looked into how the Parliament could securely use the app since specifics regarding its approach using the app remain undisclosed.

Experts’ suggestions included using dedicated devices solely for TikTok and avoiding Parliament’s internet infrastructure.

However, risks persist, even with precautions, such as potential espionage and disinformation.

Many far-right politicians have become experts in using the app to gain support, especially among young voters. In February, when TikTok shared its preparations for the EU elections, the platform mentioned that approximately 30% of MEPs are on TikTok.

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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