The UK bans TikTok on government devices amid security concerns. FILE PHOTO: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
The UK government is banning TikTok amid security concerns.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has disallowed the video sharing app from being downloaded onto government-owned devices like phones following fears about how its parent company, ByteDance - which is based in China - handles its data.
Oliver Dowden, the Cabinet Office Minister, told MPs the decision was being made after a extensive review found that there could “be a risk around how sensitive government data is accessed and used by certain platforms”.
The Conservative politician announced the decision would take effect immediately and that ministers and other officials would be able to use a select list of pre-approved apps on their devices like phones and laptops used for official business.
However, despite the ban, Grant Shapps - who works under Dowden in the Cabinet Office as a minister - has gone on record to insist he will still post videos on the app to his more than 14000 followers.
In response to the move - which comes after the US federal government and the European Commission did the same - the politician shared a clip from the 2013 Martin Scorsese-helmed flick, “The Wolf of Wall Street” that sees Leonardo Di Caprio’s character Jordan Belfort telling his Wall Street employees he is “not f****** leaving” and that the “show goes on”.
He also told his TikTok fanbase: “This morning the government announced a TikTok ban on government devices. That's sensible.
“I've never used TikTok on government devices and can hereby confirm I will NOT be leaving TikTok anytime soon! #politics #news #foryoupage #FYP #trend #wolfofwallstreet #imnotleaving #tiktok.”
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, remarked the government were “closing the stable door after the horse has bolted”.
When given the news, 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.”
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