London: Britain is set to announce a ban on TikTok on government phones on Thursday, PA media reported, a move that would follow other Western countries that have banned the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.
TikTok has come under scrutiny because of fears that user data from the app, owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance, could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.
Britain’s National Cyber Security Center is reviewing whether TikTok should be banned from government phones, while the United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app.
Asked about a possible ban on TikTok, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said earlier in the week that it was “incredibly important” to understand the challenges posed by these apps. Tiktok has said that it would be disappointed by such a ban.
The government is expected to make a statement on the safety of its equipment later on Thursday.
(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Paul Sandel)
Disclaimer: This report is generated automatically from Reuters news service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.
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