EU BANS TikTok on staff devices

On Thursday, the European Commission banned TikTok on official staff devices regarding concerns over data protection.

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EU STAFF CAN’T USE ANY CHINESE-OWNED-APPS

The ban also means that European Commission staff cannot use the Chinese-owned video-sharing app on their devices. The EU spokesperson said that this includes phones that have official apps installed, as reported by Euractiv.

Employees must remove the app as soon as possible and should do so by 15 March.

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APP BANNED IN US FEDERAL DEVICES

TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data.

Last year, the United States banned the app from federal government devices. Some US lawmakers are currently trying to ban TikTok from being used in the United States.

Last month, the Dutch government reportedly advised public officials to steer clear of the app over similar concerns.

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TIKTOK ADMITS TO HAVING ACCESS TO USER DATA

By the end of last year, TikTok admitted that some staff in China can access the data of European users.

TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month for talks with EU officials during which they warned TikTok to ensure the safety of European users’ data. He insisted the company was working on a “robust” system for processing European data in Europe, an EU spokesman said at the time.

TikTok has also promised to hold US users’ data in the United States to allay Washington’s concerns.

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The commission has “very strong views on cybersecurity, protecting our colleagues, and of course, everyone which is working here,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market.