U.K. authorities said Thursday that they are banning TikTok from government devices on security grounds, following similar steps taken by the U.S. and European Union.
Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told Parliament that the ban applies with immediate effect to work phones and other devices used by government ministers and civil servants. He noted that the ban did not apply to personal phones and devices and called it a “precautionary move.”
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“Given the particular risk around government devices, which may contain sensitive information, it is both prudent and proportionate to restrict the use of certain apps, particularly when it comes to apps where a large amount of data can be stored and accessed,” Dowden said.
“We believe these bans have been based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics, in which TikTok and our millions of users in the U.K, play no part,” ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We remain committed to working with the government to address any concerns but should be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors.”
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Neither TikTok nor ByteDance immediately replied to FOX Business’ request for comment.
This recent action comes after the U.S. government mandated last month that employees of federal agencies must delete TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices.
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The European Union, Belgium and others have also temporarily banned the app from work phones.
China, however, has accused the U.S. of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok after reports that the White House was calling on the platform’s owners to sell their stakes in the app.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.