TikTok Banned in European Union’s Governing Bodies Over Security Concerns

Concerns about cybersecurity and Beijing’s influence abroad led to TikTok being banned by the European Union’s top policy-making bodies.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance in China. It has been widely criticised for its toxic content. The company is currently banned by many countries and 25 U.S. States. This is due to concerns over data sharing with Beijing as well as the promotion of the agenda of Chinese Communist Party.

Thierry Breton, chief EU industry official, announced the ban European Commission declined to confirm whether any incidents were related to TikTok.

This is a move that comes as China, West and East are clearly locked in a tug of war ranging from spy balloons production to computer-chip manufacturing.

In a statement, the EU executive Commission stated that the decision would be applicable to both personal and work phones and devices.

“To increase its cybersecurity, the Commission’s Corporate Management Board has decided to suspend the use of the TikTok application on its corporate devices and on personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile device service,” It said so in a statement.

“This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission,” It was also added.

TikTok expressed disappointment with the ban.

The European Parliament stated that it was aware of the Commission’s actions and was in contact.

“Relevant services are also monitoring and assessing all possible data breaches related to the app and will consider the European Commission evaluation before formulating recommendations to European Parliament authorities,” A spokesperson said.

Norway is not a member of EU 27. This month, the justice minister had to apologize to the public for not disclosing she had installed TikTok onto her government-issued cellphone.

TikTok has also been under pressure by the EU to conform to upcoming digital regulations. These new digital regulations aim to get large online platforms to remove illegal and toxic content, as well as comply with strict data privacy rules.

Other Bans

TikTok was among a number of Chinese apps that India banned in June 2020. This was due to security concerns and potential damage to India’s integrity.

Taiwan banned TikTok, along with other Chinese apps, from state-owned devices. In December 2022, Taiwan launched an investigation into the social media app for illegal operations.

In December 2022 the U.S. Congress passed a bill banning TikTok federal devices. President Joe Biden is yet to sign the bill.

Boise State University (US), University of Oklahoma (US), University of Texas-Austin (US), and West Texas A&M University (US) have all banned TikTok use of Wi-Fi networks and devices at universities.

Texas, Maryland, Alabama and Utah are just some of the more than 25 states that have issued directives to their staff against TikTok being used on government devices.

This report was contributed by Reuters and The Associated Press.