The UK government has announced that TikTok is now banned from being used on UK government devices following a security review ordered by Cabinet Office ministers. The review looked at the potential vulnerability of sensitive government data and how this could be accessed by TikTok.
The government has noted that the TikTok ban is a precautionary measure and not of a result of known data snooping. The government said that TikTok requires users to give permissions including access to contacts, user content, and geolocation data. It doesn’t want this data being sent to the Chinese company in case the data is misused.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden said:
“The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review.
Restricting the use of TikTok on Government devices is a prudent and proportionate step following advice from our cyber security experts.”
The government stressed that while TikTok is now banned on government devices, the ban does not extend to personal devices for government employees, ministers, or the general public. With that said, it warned that users should learn about the data policies of social media platforms before using them. The government’s decision to ban the app comes as the US considers banning the app in the country altogether.
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