Possible blocking of TikTok and Telegram should be decided politically, at least at the level of the Baltic States - State Security Service

RIGA - The decision on the possible blocking of the social networks TikTok and Telegram should be political, and for such a solution to be effective, at least all three Baltic States should agree on the restriction, the State Security Service (VDD) has said in a letter addressed to the Saeima.

Wednesday's meeting of the Saeima's Media Policy Sub-Committee included a question on "social networking sites and public security". During the meeting, the chairman of the subcommittee, Atis Svinka (Progressives), quoted a part of the partly classified letter from the VDD to the subcommittee.

The letter states that the VDD, in accordance with its competence, constantly monitors developments in the information space, including social networking sites, in order to identify possible threats to Latvia's national security interests.

The VDD analysis shows that the TikTok and Telegram apps are widely used to disseminate content that is associated with risks to Latvia's information space and national security interests.

The letter describes several cases where social networks have been used to spread disinformation and recruit perpetrators of criminal activities. According to the VDD, the applications Telegram and TikTok do not sufficiently monitor the content posted by users, do not delete unwanted content, uncontrollably disseminate Russian propaganda on both platforms, and do not pay attention to identifying and deleting terrorist and other unwanted content.

In the letter to MPs, the VDD has pointed out that Telegram is used by a large number of pro-Kremlin users, which allows for recruitment and intelligence gathering. The VDD also points out that Telegram is used to glorify terrorism and commit crimes of various kinds, thus posing a threat to Latvia's security.

In the view of the VDD, however, a decision on the possible restriction of Telegram and TikTok should be taken politically, and the restriction should take place on a broader regional level, i.e. at least in all the Baltic States or even in the entire European Union.

When considering such a step, it is essential that the blocking is real, i.e. that access to such platforms is not easily available to the majority of the Latvian population.

At the same time, the VDD warns that blocking these types of apps requires awareness that new similar apps may be developed in their place, which may take the place of these particular apps in a relatively short time.