Is TikTok banned?
THE UK and the US' concerns over TikTok, its data collection and its ties to China have escalated significantly today.
Governments in the US, Canada, the European Union (EU) and the UK have been particularly hawk-eyed in recent weeks regarding how the popular video-sharing app deals with its users data.
But today, UK ministers will announce that TikTok is to be banned on UK government phones over security fears.
Earlier this month, the US, Canada and the EU banned people working for government agencies from having TikTok on staff devices.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak had previously hinted at mirroring these bans, saying the UK will "look at what our allies are doing".
The US government also confirmed today that TikTok faces a country-wide ban - unless it is sold to a different company.
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The app, currently owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, has amassed more than 1billion users worldwide since it launched six years ago.
It became particularly popular and a source of entertainment for many during successive Covid-19 lockdowns, beginning in 2020.
However, a cocktail of well-established fears about social media’s data collection practices and concerns over China’s geopolitical ambitions have whipped up a large amount distrust regarding the app.
Why might TikTok be banned?
There are concerns over security and data privacy at the Chinese-owned app.
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Across the Atlantic, both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that parent company ByteDance could share TikTok user data with China’s authoritarian government.
In 2021, Ireland's data protection watchdog, launched an investigation into “transfers by TikTok of personal data to China and TikTok’s compliance with the GDPR’s requirements for transfers of personal data to third countries”.
TikTokers sign up for a considerable amount of data collection when they create an account on the platform, such as:
- The device and operating system you're using
- How long you watch a post for
- What categories you like
- Where you're located
- The keystroke rhythms you have when you type
This is how the app is able to create an incredibly attuned main feed.
However, TikTok has called cascading government bans "misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions".
The company has made an effort in recent weeks to counter some of the concern, launching new security measures under a scheme called Project Clover, according to the BBC.
Project Clover will see a separate security company "monitor data flows", as TikTok tries to make it harder to identify individual users in its data.
Global security advisor at cybersecurity firm ESET, Jake Moore, said: “Recent news on Chinese espionage has heightened fears on Chinese owned companies that handle such a huge set of UK data.
“The TikTok can of worms has very much opened with little chance of ever forcing the lid back on.
“The temptation for businesses to connect with such audiences is too great for them not to tap into and however the tension grows with the government, it will be a battle right to the end.”
Where is TikTok banned?
Earlier this month, the European Parliament, European Commission, and the EU Council - the three top EU bodies - all imposed bans on TikTok on staff devices, citing cybersecurity concerns.
Last week, Belgium announced it was banning TikTok from devices owned or paid for by Belgium's federal government for at least six months over similar fears as well as misinformation worries.
Denmark’s Defence Ministry, also last week, announced it would “ban the use of the app on official units” as a cybersecurity measure.
While the US earlier this month gave government agencies 30 days to delete TikTok from federal devices and systems.
The ban applies only to government devices, however, some US lawmakers are calling for a country-wide ban.
Canada followed the US soon after, announcing that government-issued devices must not have TikTok installed due to an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security.
Employees will also be blocked from downloading the app in the future.
In December last year, Taiwan imposed a TikTok ban for public sector employees.
In 2020, India banned the platform and dozens of other Chinese apps, after warning that user data was being mined and profiled “by elements hostile to national security and defence of India”.
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Authorities in Pakistan have imposed at least four temporary bans on the platform since October 2020, citing concerns that it promotes immoral content.
While Afghanistan's Taliban leadership banned TikTok in 2022 on the grounds of protecting youths from "being misled".
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