UK bans TikTok ‘with immediate effect’ on government devices

The UK on Thursday announced an immediate ban on the TikTok app on government devices due to security concerns.

• Read also: China urges US to stop ‘unwarranted attacks’ on TikTok

“We will ban the use of TikTok on government devices,” with “immediate effect,” Minister of State Oliver Dowden, whose portfolio includes cybersecurity, told parliament.

The app for sharing short videos, very popular among young people, is accused by its critics of giving Chinese authorities access to user data around the world, which TikTok disputes.

This is a “precautionary” measure, “we know there is already limited use of TikTok in government, but this is good cyber hygiene,” he said. .

“Given the particular risk around government devices, which may contain sensitive information, it is both prudent and proportionate to restrict the use of certain applications”, particularly those which access and store a “significant amount of data “, he added.

This approach, “based on the specific risks on government devices”, follows similar bans taken in particular by the United States, Canada or the European Union, argued Oliver Dowden.

China on Wednesday urged the United States to stop “unwarranted attacks” on TikTok, after the US government asked its Chinese parent company to part with it or face a ban on national security grounds.

According to the Wall Street Journal and other American dailies, the White House has issued an ultimatum: if TikTok remains in the fold of its owner, the Chinese group ByteDance, it will be banned in the United States.

TikTok confirmed to AFP that the US government had recommended the application be transferred by its owner.

Washington “has so far not provided evidence that TikTok threatens the national security of the United States”, reacted Wednesday to the press a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.

“The United States should stop spreading false information on data security issues, stop unwarranted attacks [contre TikTok] and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment” for foreign businesses, the spokesperson added.

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