The European Parliament has decided to ban the Chinese short-video sharing app TikTok from employee phones over security concerns. The planned ban would also apply to private devices with parliamentary email and other network access points installed, EU officials said on Tuesday with the decision being made by the EU and the European Union Commission’s enforcement agencies. It added that it will soon announce that it will prohibit employees from installing TikTok on the devices they use for work, citing privacy concerns.
TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China, has faced increasing scrutiny by Western countries in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data. The US Office of Management and Budget called the announced guidance a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data”. Some US agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State, already have restrictions in place and the White House does not allow TikTok on its devices. The US guidance called on the rest of the federal government to follow suit within 30 days.
Last week, TikTok accused the European Commission of failing to consult its decision to ban employee phone calls on cybersecurity grounds. Canada announced a ban on TikTok on government-issued devices on Monday, saying it poses an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security. India and Taiwan recently decided to block TikTok from government devices as well. Government action will not directly affect the general public using TikTok on personal or corporate devices.
