UK bans TikTok on government devices
The pressure is increasing again on the social network created in China TikTok. On Thursday, the UK announced an immediate ban on the app on government devices, due to security concerns.
“We will ban the use of TikTok on government devices”, with “immediate effect”, declared in the British Parliament the Minister of State Oliver Dowden, whose portfolio includes cybersecurity. This is a “precautionary” measure, “we know that there is already a limited use of TikTok in government, but this is good cyber hygiene,” he said.
The Minister further added: “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”, in particular those which access and store a “significant amount of data. »
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.
“Unwarranted attacks” against TikTok according to China
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 Thursday afternoon TikTok said it was officially “disappointed” by this measure from the United Kingdom and called for it to be “judged on facts and treated in the same way as its competitors”. “We believe these bans are based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by broader geopolitics, in which TikTok and our millions of users in the UK play no part,” a spokesperson for the app continued. , in a statement sent to AFP.
Unsatisfied with these cascading bans by different governments , China finally broke its silence on Wednesday. She urged the United States to stop “unjustified attacks” against TikTok, after a request by the American government to its Chinese parent company to separate from it under penalty of prohibition, for reasons of national security.
United States Ultimatum
According to the “Wall Street Journal” and other American dailies, the White House 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 about data security issues, stop unwarranted attacks on TikTok, and provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment” for foreign businesses, the spokesperson added.
With AFP
