Lithuanian Minister of National Defense, Dovilė Šakalienė, sharply criticized the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for using the TikTok app.
Šakalienė stated that she does not consider the platform useful for any purpose, claiming that it is unrelated to freedom of information and contributes to the spread of disinformation.
“I certainly view this very negatively, but a political party is not a government institution,” the minister emphasized.
According to the broadcaster, the SDP’s TikTok account has nearly 700 followers, with the first video posted in March 2022.
The party’s communications team explained that TikTok use is just a small part of its public outreach efforts, noting that more than 54% of internet users in Lithuania use the platform.
However, in 2023, Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Centre conducted an analysis of TikTok and recommended not using the app on official phones, as it may pose a threat to digital data security. This recommendation remains in effect, and political organizations are advised to comply with it.
The party stated that it takes all security requirements seriously but has not yet received any official requests from government bodies to cease using TikTok.
