UK parliament joins forces with government, bans TikTok
Joining the government in its stand against TikTok, British parliament on Tuesday (March 23) said the Chinese-owned social media app wil be banned. This will deprive the lawmakers of access to the app using the parliament’s internet network.
The announcement came as TikTok’s chief executive Shou Zi Chew appeared before a hostile US Congress over its alleged ties to the communist government in Beijing.
The app “will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network”, the House of Commons and House of Lords said, adding: “Cyber security is a top priority for parliament.”
Lawmakers who are active on TikTok can use the app on their own phones but they will not be able to do when connected via parliament’s wifi.
UK’s Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, who is active on Twitter, said he would comply with the ban on his government phone, but still use the app on his own devices.
The devolved government of Scotland announced Thursday that it would also ban the app on its official devices.
TikTok is facing flak particularly in Western countries where concerns of app being used for espionage are being raised
TikTok’s owner ByteDance and the Chinese government have dismissed the security fears over the app and denounced the Western bans as politically motivated.
