Last Updated: March 17, 2023, 03:20 IST
More international locations are anxious about letting customers use the app
Western authorities have been taking an more and more agency method to the app, owned by the agency Bytedance
The UK on Thursday introduced a safety ban on the Chinese-owned video app TikTok on authorities units, according to motion by the European Union and the United States.
“We will achieve this with fast impact,” Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told parliament.
Western authorities have been taking an increasingly firm approach to the app, owned by the firm Bytedance, citing fears that user data could be used or abused by Chinese officials.
Dowden said that experts had conducted a risk assessment of third-party apps in relation to sensitive government data.
As part of the measures, government devices will only be allowed to access apps on a pre-approved list.
The ban will apply to “government corporate devices” used by ministers and ministries, however not apply to non-public units or the broader public.
“This is a proportionate transfer,” said Dowden, urging users to exercise “caution” earlier than downloading apps.
ByteDance has lengthy insisted that it doesn’t preserve information in China or share it with Beijing.
US officers have stated that if TikTok elements methods with ByteDance it will keep away from a wider nationwide ban.
On Thursday, the international ministry in Beijing referred to as on Washington to cease “unreasonably suppressing” TikTok, which claims more than a billion global users.
“The US has so far failed to produce evidence that TikTok threatens US national security,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin instructed reporters.
The UK this week detailed plans to counter what it stated was the “epoch-defining problem” posed by China, in an update to its defence and foreign policy.
Since its departure from the European Union, the UK is seeking new markets and influence in Asia, in part to counter China.
Among its plans is the strengthening of security agencies to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure.
The UK has previously sparked anger in China by banning the involvement of tech firm Huawei in the roll-out of the country’s 5G network.
It has also blocked Chinese takeovers of UK electronics groups and removed China General Nuclear from construction of a new power station.
When he bid unsuccessfully to take over from Boris Johnson in July, now Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to get tough on China, calling the Asian superpower the “number one threat” to home and international safety.
He claimed on the time that China was “stealing our expertise and infiltrating our universities”.
But since replacing Johnson’s successor Liz Truss in Downing Street, Sunak has also stressed the need to stay engaged with China.
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