European Commission bans TikTok on staff devices

Staff moving astatine the European Commission person been ordered to region the TikTok app from their phones and firm devices.

The committee said it was implementing the measurement to "protect information and summation cybersecurity".

TikTok, owned by Chinese institution ByteDance, has faced allegations that it harvests users' information and hands it to the Chinese government.

TikTok insists it operates nary otherwise from different societal media.

European Union (EU) manufacture main Thierry Breton told a quality league that the union's enforcement is precise focused connected cybersecurity, declining to supply further details.

The prohibition besides means that European Commission unit cannot usage TikTok connected idiosyncratic devices that person authoritative apps installed.

The committee says it has astir 32,000 imperishable and declaration employees.

They indispensable region the app arsenic soon arsenic imaginable and nary aboriginal than 15 March.

For those who bash not comply by the acceptable deadline, the firm apps - specified arsenic the committee email and Skype for Business - volition nary longer beryllium available.

TikTok said the commission's determination was based connected mistaken ideas astir its platform.

"We are disappointed with this decision, which we judge to beryllium misguided and based connected cardinal misconceptions," a spokesperson said.

Last year, TikTok admitted immoderate unit successful China tin entree the information of European users.

TikTok's genitor institution ByteDance has faced expanding Western scrutiny successful caller months implicit fears astir however overmuch entree Beijing has to idiosyncratic data.

The US authorities banned TikTok past twelvemonth connected national government-issued devices owed to nationalist information concerns.

The US fears the Chinese authorities whitethorn leverage TikTok to entree those devices and US idiosyncratic data.

Last month, the Dutch authorities reportedly advised nationalist officials to steer wide of the app implicit akin concerns.

In the UK, the seat of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Alicia Kerns MP, precocious urged users to delete the app successful an interrogation with Sky News.

TikTok has grown rapidly and was the archetypal non Meta app to scope 3 cardinal downloads worldwide, according to analytics steadfast Sensor Tower Data.

The societal media service's main enforcement Shou Zi Chew was successful Brussels successful January for talks with EU officials during which they warned TikTok to guarantee the information of European users' data, adding that it had a agelong mode to spell to regain their trust.

He insisted the institution was moving connected a "robust" strategy for processing Europeans' information successful Europe, an EU spokesperson said astatine the time.

TikTok has besides promised to clasp US users' information successful the United States to allay Washington's concerns.