UK Bans TikTok on Government Devices | CNN Business

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CNN
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The United Kingdom banned TikTok from official government devices on Thursday, joining similar restrictions imposed by allies in Canada, the European Union and the United States.

The social media app is not widely used by UK officials, according to a government announcement, but the move reflects concerns about TikTok’s links to China through its parent company, ByteDance, and the possibility that the Chinese government could pressure companies to hand over users. ‘ personal information.

“This is a proportionate move based on a specific risk with government devices,” UK cabinet minister Oliver Dowden told lawmakers on Thursday.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has said it is voluntarily working to address security concerns by taking technical and bureaucratic steps to cut off US and EU user data from its global operations. It has also said it has not received any requests from the Chinese government for user information and would resist such calls.

The UK announcement comes a day after TikTok said the US government had asked the company’s Chinese owners to sell their shares or risk a ban.

In December, President Joe Biden signed legislation banning TikTok from federal government devices, joining what has become a list of more than half of US states.

US lawmakers have proposed expanding the Biden administration’s authority to enact a nationwide ban on TikTok. A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation this month that would give the Commerce Department broad latitude to review and ban technologies linked to foreign adversaries, a proposal the White House quickly embraced.