The EU is banning the use of TikTok on official devices across all three institutions.


Paris/London
CNN

The European Parliament on Tuesday banned TikTok from using employee devices over cybersecurity concerns, meaning the Chinese video-sharing app is now banned in all three major EU institutions.

“Due to cybersecurity concerns, in particular with regard to data protection and data collection by third parties, the European Parliament has decided, together with other institutions, to suspend the use of the TikTok mobile app on corporate devices from March 20, 2023. “, the message says.

Parliament also “strongly recommended” its members and staff members to remove TikTok from their personal devices.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, told CNN that it is “disappointing that other government agencies and institutions are banning TikTok on employees’ devices without any discussion or evidence.”

“These bans are based on basic misinformation about our company, and we are ready to meet with officials to clarify the situation regarding our ownership structure and our commitment to data privacy and security. We share a common goal with governments that are concerned about user privacy, but these bans are misguided and do nothing to further privacy or security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“We appreciate that some governments have wisely chosen not to implement such bans due to lack of evidence that there is a need to do so.”

Last week the European Commission announced he banned TikTok from official devices, citing cybersecurity concerns.

A senior EU official at the European Council told CNN that the Council’s General Secretariat, the body that assists the Brussels-based permanent representatives of the 27 EU countries, “is in the process of implementing measures similar to those adopted by the Commission. ”

“This will be the removal of the application on corporate devices and a request from employees to remove it from personal mobile devices that have access to corporate services,” the official added. “The Secretariat is constantly reviewing its cybersecurity measures in close collaboration with other EU institutions.”

The European Commission said last week that their decision to ban TikTok only applies to devices under the control of the EU executive.

“This measure aims to protect the Commission from cybersecurity threats and activities that could be used to cyber-attack the Commission’s corporate environment,” the statement said.

A TikTok spokesperson told CNN at the time that It was contacted the commission to “set a record and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU who log into TikTok every month.”

Earlier on TikTok was disclosed European users that employees in China can access user data from the EU. The company also recently announced plans to open two new data centers in Europe.

TikTok is undergoing a similar scrutiny across the Atlantic.

On Monday the White House directed federal agencies to remove TikTok from all government devices within 30 days, with some exceptions.

The move added to a growing effort by the United States to crack down on the app amid renewed security concerns.

U.S. officials have expressed concern that the Chinese government could pressure ByteDance to pass on user-generated information that could be used for intelligence or disinformation purposes. As CNN previously reported, independent security experts have said such access is possible, although no such access has been reported to date.

Brooke Oberwetter, spokesperson for TikTok, called the ban “nothing more than political theatre.”

“The ban on TikTok on federal devices was passed in December without any discussion, and, unfortunately, this approach has served as a model for governments around the world,” Oberwetter said in a statement.

“We hope that when it comes to addressing TikTok-related national security concerns beyond government devices, Congress will explore solutions that do not result in the voices of millions of Americans being censored.”

China also hit back at the decision on Tuesday, when a foreign ministry spokesman accused Washington of “generalizing the concept of national security” and “undue suppression of other countries’ enterprises.”

Canadian government announced a similar ban on TikTok from official electronic devices on Monday.

Other countries may soon have to face the same problem.

Asked if Australia would soon follow the US, the European Union and Canada, Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the country had not yet been advised to restrict the use of the app by government employees.

“We will heed the advice of our national security agencies. This is not advice today,” Chalmers said. said Australian broadcaster ABC in an interview on Wednesday.