Britain said on Thursday it had banned TikTok on government phones with immediate effect, in line with other Western countries that have banned the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.
“The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The use of other data-mining apps will be kept under control,” Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden said in a statement.
The UK government has asked the National Cyber Security Center to look into the potential vulnerability of government data from social media apps and the risks related to how sensitive information is accessed and used.
“Limiting the use of TikTok on government devices is a prudent and proportionate measure, following the advice of our cybersecurity experts,” Dowden said.
TikTok said it was disappointed by the decision and has already started taking steps to further protect European users’ data.
“We believe these bans were based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by a wider geopolitics, in which TikTok and our millions of UK users play no role,” a spokesperson for the app said.
“We remain committed to working with the government to resolve any issues, but we must be judged on the facts and treated the same way as our competitors.”
Dowden told Parliament that government devices will now only be able to access third-party apps from a pre-approved list.
The TikTok ban does not include personal devices of government officials or ministers, and there will be limited exemptions when TikTok is required on government devices for business purposes, he added.
The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the short-video platform from official devices.
Source: Terra
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