Could TikTok ever be banned in the UK too?

Analysts person suggested it is "just substance of time" until the US prohibition connected TikTok spreads to allied countries and beyond - arsenic agelong arsenic the Trump medication presses up with it.

The app volition beryllium banned successful America from Sunday aft US lawmakers ruled it was a nationalist information hazard due to the fact that of proprietor ByteDance's ties to the Chinese authorities - ties it denies.

Incoming President Trump has indicated though that helium is opposed to the prohibition and volition find a mode to reverse it.

If the US prohibition goes ahead, experts constituent to the erstwhile ousting of Chinese and Russian tech companies connected nationalist information grounds arsenic a imaginable blueprint for however the TikTok prohibition mightiness dispersed astir the world.

"There are large parallels betwixt TikTok and what happened with China's Huawei and Russia's Kaspersky that indicates it's conscionable a substance of clip until a creeping prohibition takes affect," says Emily Taylor, Editor of the Cyber Policy Journal.

In some cases these companies were accused by the US of being a menace to nationalist information - but nary smoking weapon was ever revealed by cyber information authorities.

The aforesaid has happened with TikTok.

Under President Trump, Kaspersky's flagship antivirus bundle merchandise was banned from civilian and subject computers successful the US aft accusations arose successful 2017 that it was utilized by the Kremlin successful a hacking incidental that was ne'er proven.

The UK followed astir instantly and 1 by 1 different allies fell into enactment with restrictions, warnings oregon bans.

It took years but yet a countrywide prohibition took effect past twelvemonth successful the US but it was each but redundant by then. Kaspersky closed its US operations followed by its UK offices saying determination is nary viable concern there.

The institution has ever argued that the US authorities based its determination connected the "geopolitical clime and theoretical concerns" alternatively than independently verifying risk.

According to research from Bitsight Kaspersky's diminution successful usage aft the prohibition was pronounced, not conscionable successful the US but successful astatine slightest 25 different countries too, adjacent those with nary overt nationalist argumentation to prohibition the software.

Almost the nonstop aforesaid happening happened with Chinese telecoms elephantine Huawei.

The US accused Huawei and different Chinese tech firms of being excessively adjacent to the Chinese government. It argued that the company's fashionable 5G kit should not beryllium utilized to physique telecoms successful lawsuit it could beryllium utilized to spy connected oregon degrade communications.

A erstwhile Huawei UK subordinate of unit said that erstwhile the US decided to ban, artifact oregon restrict Huawei it became astir inevitable that allies would follow.

"The UK and others spoke astir independently coming to their ain conclusions implicit information but the US was unrelenting successful its lobbying down closed doors. They warned astir the nationalist information risks which were ne'er backed up by evidence," said the erstwhile insider, who didn't privation to beryllium named.

Intense US lobbying of allies connected information issues is thing often seen successful galore aspects of cyber policy.

It usually starts with countries successful the Five Eyes Alliance.

The close-knit quality sharing statement is betwixt 5 English-speaking democracies: the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

So far, each members person banned TikTok from authorities devices and immoderate person issued nationalist warnings too. Canada has ordered an extremity to TikTok's Canadian operations citing nationalist information concerns.

The Five Eyes knock-on effect tin beryllium sizeable and restrictions person already dispersed with the app banned connected devices of authorities employees, civilian servants oregon subject unit successful countries including Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, The Netherlands, Norway and Taiwan.

Ciaran Martin, who was caput of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre during the bans connected Huawei and Kaspersky, agrees that mostly erstwhile the US makes a nationalist information oregon strategical determination astir a company, the UK and allies yet travel suit.

However, arsenic with everything other to bash with TikTok, helium says determination is simply a immense caveat successful the signifier of the incoming Trump administration.

"What we don't yet cognize is whether TikTok volition beryllium the objection arsenic Trump has said helium is opposed to the prohibition truthful volition helium bid allies to replicate a ban? We don't yet know."

Trump's presumption connected TikTok has changed dramatically since his archetypal presidency erstwhile helium tried to get it banned. Since past helium has go a protagonist aft his re-election run gained enactment done TikTok videos.

Emily Taylor agrees that this chartless origin mightiness marque TikTok antithetic to Huawei and Kaspersky.

"It depends connected however overmuch unit the medication is consenting to exert", she told the BBC.

"If their overseas argumentation docket is packed past forcing different allies to travel the prohibition mightiness autumn down the database and let countries to hold it out".

At the moment, determination are "no plans" for a TikTok prohibition successful the UK, a authorities spokesperson said connected Saturday. "We prosecute with each large societal media companies to recognize their plans for ensuring the information of UK information and to guarantee they conscionable the precocious information extortion and cyber information standards we expect."

Another facet to see astir TikTok's aboriginal post-US prohibition is whether oregon not the app tin proceed to thrive without a US lawsuit base.

Any app that loses 170m users would endure but US users successful peculiar are invaluable for creators, advertisers and nonstop spending successful TikTok Shop.

If the remainder of the West follows it volition trim the wealth flowing into the institution and curtail improvement of caller features, further entrenching the dominance of US platforms similar Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat.

TikTok is already banned successful Pakistan, Afghanistan and India excessively - a monolithic market. It has nary beingness successful China due to the fact that of its sister app Douyin.

Kaspersky and Huawei some managed to upwind their storms by relying connected home-grown lawsuit bases and by pivoting to regions similar Africa and the Middle East.

So it mightiness beryllium imaginable for TikTok to physique its idiosyncratic bases here. But if the US prohibition creeps astir the satellite past the app volition apt ne'er beryllium arsenic large arsenic it presently is and whitethorn good wither and dice a dilatory decease whilst US incumbents further entrench their dominance.