A signature collection is ongoing on the public initiative portal “Manabalss.lv” to block access to the popular social network TikTok in Latvia, LSM.lv reports.

Only a little over 100 out of the necessary 10.000 signatures for the matter to be handed over to the Saeima had been received as of Monday morning.

The author of the initiative, Artūrs Babuškins, said that the app “is used a lot to glorify Russian crimes, incite hatred and divide society”. There are also data security concerns, which have already led several countries and the European Union to ban TikTok from use by their officials.

“TikTok is actively used as a tool in Russia’s war against Ukraine and is in fact used by the Russian Federation to promote certain narratives. Such narratives are also present in the traditional media. It is only here, on TikTok, that the short video format is used and has the greatest impact. In this format, emotional music and emotional captions are added to amplify the impact,” Babuškins said.

“Information literacy of the population, for example by tracking moments that can help identify propaganda, or by reverse image searching to find out the source of images and videos, is a good thing. However, such literacy takes time, will and determination and will never be comprehensive. But the damage to our society is being done now by those hostile to Latvia and their deluded co-conspirators – a section of our society is being manipulated with false narratives to their own detriment and to the detriment of us all.”

Blocking access to TikTok on Latvian territory will, in Babuškins’ view, prevent an important channel of manipulation which, among other things, praises Russia’s war crimes and aggression against the Ukrainian people.