With Australia the latest country to act, we’ve now seen TikTok banned from government devices in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Belgium, the European Commission, Australia, and New Zealand …
Background
Chinese video shorts app TikTok has been facing increasing pressure around the world, over two main fears.
First, cybersecurity. The Chinese government has strong links to, and influences over, the tech sector in the country. Even Apple has been forced to remove apps and store Chinese user data on a server run by a government-linked company.
Second, political interference in elections. By having control over which videos are shown to users – the key unique feature of the app is that users are shown an algorithmically controlled continuous feed of videos, rather than choosing which ones to watch – the Chinese government could use it for propaganda.
In the US, this has so far led to a ban on the app being used on government devices; the Federal Communications Commission calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their App Stores; and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee doing the same. The US military, and more than half of US states, have enacted their own bans.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration urged Congress to pass an act that would give the president the power to ban apps like TikTok if they are deemed to pose a risk to national security.
TikTok banned from government devices in Australia
Reuters reports on the latest country to enact the official ban.
Australia banned TikTok on Tuesday from all federal government-owned devices over security concerns […]
TikTok said it was extremely disappointed by Australia’s decision, calling it “driven by politics, not by fact”.
The ban will come into effect “as soon as practicable”, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement, adding that exemptions would only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security measures in place.
TikTok fined in the UK
Politico reports that the UK privacy watchdog has fined TikTok for several breaches of data protection laws. This includes allowing young children to use the app.
The U.K.’s data regulator has fined TikTok £12.7m for several breaches, including misusing children’s data.
TikTok users are meant to be over the age of 13, but the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) estimated that 1.4 million children in the U.K. were on TikTok in 2020, breaching its terms of service.
That meant that the social network was using children’s personal data without parental consent and it “did not do enough” to check who was on the platform, the ICO said.
Members of Congress asked to stop using the app
More than 20 members of Congress use TikTok to post short videos, and AP News reports that they are now coming under pressure to stop doing so.
As pressure against TikTok mounts in Washington, the more than two dozen members of Congress — all Democrats — who are active on the social media platform are being pushed by their colleagues to stop using it. Many defend their presence on the platform, saying they have a responsibility as public officials to meet Americans where they are — and more than 150 million are on TikTok.
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