Social media app TikTok has been banned from UK government devices as a data security measure over concerns about the app’s connection to the Chinese government.
The popular short-form video sharing app, with over 3.5 billion downloads worldwide, is owned by Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance.
Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden said the company has denied claims that the Chinese government has access to TikTok’s user data, but UK ministers have banned the video app as a “precautionary measure”.
“The security of classified government information must be a top priority,” Dowden said. This ban follows a review of the app by the National Cyber Security Center.
This decision applies only to devices issued by the government to ministers and civil servants. That means officials are free to continue using her TikTok on their personal devices. Dowden said this was because there were “risks inherent in government devices.”
“But as always, we encourage you to exercise caution online and review the data policies of each social media platform before downloading and using,” he added.
The UK ban follows a similar decision made in the US to remove TikTok from government-issued devices.Since then, the Biden administration has Ask ByteDance to sell TikTok Outside Chinese ownership to avoid being outright banned in America.
A TikTok spokesperson said: United Kingdom TN The company is “disappointed by this decision” and believes the ban is “based on a fundamental misunderstanding and driven by wider geopolitics.”
The spokesperson said the company “remains committed to working with governments to address concerns, but should be judged on the basis of facts and treated on a par with our competitors,” adding that “European user data We have begun implementing a comprehensive plan to further protect the .
The plan includes “storing UK user data in European data centers” and “strengthening data access controls, including independent third-party oversight of our approach.” It is
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