The UK will join the growing list of countries that have banned TikTok mobile phones used by members and government officials, such as the US, Canada, Belgium or the Netherlands.
The measure announced by Oliver Dowden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (who holds a role equivalent to that of Minister in the Presidency of the Council of Ministers), was prompted by concerns about possible threats to the security of government data, potentially collected by Chinese demand. It’s good digital “hygiene,” he explained.
The decision was made following a security analysis, commissioned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office, of vulnerabilities to which government data was exposed on devices with social media installed.
“Given the potentially sensitive nature of information stored on government devices, the state’s policy on the management of third-party apps will be strengthened and the preemptive ban of TikTok on government devices is enforced,” reads the statement. a statement issued by the British authorities.
When installed, TikTok asks users to allow the application access data stored on the device, which is then collected and stored by the company — in this case, the ByteDance, Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok. This information may include, For example, telephone contacts or geolocation data.
“Restricting the use of TikTok on government devices is a prudent and proportionate measure, following the advice of our cybersecurity experts”, reinforced Oliver Dowden on Thursday.
Facing accusations of aiding Chinese espionage, TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing its users’ data with authorities in Beijing. The company, which considers its product as an entertainment service and not as a social network, has reaffirmed that it has independent management from the Chinese regime, claims to be the victim of a geopolitical conflict that goes beyond it and complains of excessive surveillance by compared to that to which other digital platforms are subject.
At the end of February, and referring to the law passed by the United States Congress last December which bans TikTok on government devices, the company’s spokesperson in the United States, Brooke Oberwetter, said that the legislation had changed “without any weighting” and regretted that “unfortunately” this approach served as a “model for other governments”. “These bans are little more than political theater,” he said.
After the United States, the European Commission had also banned TikTok for its employees, citing the need for “protection” of the institution.
North Americans are TikTok’s largest audience, but globally it’s estimated that application has over 1.5 billion users. In the UK alone, there are over 23 million monthly active users of this platform.
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