6 months ago
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TikTok could find itself successful the crosshairs of UK authorities arsenic they see whether the video-sharing app should beryllium banned.
Security curate Tom Tugendhat told Sky News helium had asked the National Cyber Security Centre to look into the Chinese-owned platform, which has much than 1 cardinal users worldwide.
Despite its popularity, it has travel nether heightened scrutiny successful Europe and the US implicit its links to Beijing - with concerns that it could beryllium utilized to cod idiosyncratic information en masse.
Sky News contacted TikTok astir the progressively hardline approaches, arsenic the UK mulls pursuing its allies successful banning the app from authorities devices.
A spokesperson said they would beryllium "disappointed" by specified a move.
"Similar decisions elsewhere person been based connected misplaced fears and seemingly driven by wider geopolitics, but we stay committed to moving with the authorities to code immoderate concerns," helium said.
"We person begun implementing a broad program to further support our European idiosyncratic data, which includes storing UK idiosyncratic information successful our European information centres and tightening information entree controls, including third-party autarkic oversight of our approach."
Here's wherever enactment has already been taken.
US
Politicians successful Congress person been ordered to region TikTok from their enactment phones implicit information privateness fears.
They person besides been stopped from downloading it successful future, with the House of Representatives' cybersecurity experts having deemed it to beryllium a "high hazard to users".
Some privation the measures to spell adjacent further, with a afloat nationwide prohibition being mooted. Republicans and Democrats joined forces precocious past twelvemonth to unveil bipartisan authorities that would enforce specified a atomic option.
The measure would artifact "any societal media institution in, oregon nether the power of" China and different hostile countries.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is based successful Beijing. It has described the authorities arsenic politically motivated and has denied ever sharing information with the Chinese government.
The Congress prohibition came aft dozens of idiosyncratic states banned their ain politicians from utilizing TikTok connected their authorities devices.
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EU
The European Commission took akin steps to the US Congress past month, banning each employees from having TikTok connected enactment phones.
A spokesperson said it was to "increase the commission's cybersecurity", but did not uncover whether it was down to immoderate circumstantial incidents oregon threats.
TikTok said the suspension was "misguided and based connected cardinal misconceptions".
Individual countries person besides taken action, with Belgium and the Netherlands among those to person banned it from authorities devices.
In a bid to allay fears astir information privateness wrong the bloc's 27 members, the steadfast has announced it volition unfastened 3 European information centres wherever idiosyncratic accusation volition beryllium stored - and a third-party information information spouse to oversee further layers of security.
The institution says these volition further trim worker entree to information and bounds information flows extracurricular of Europe.
Among the information collected by the app are things similar your IP address, what different apps you person connected your phone, immoderate sign-up accusation you provide, and determination information and contacts if you springiness it permission.
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India
The astir wholesale TikTok prohibition is successful India, wherever everyone is blocked from utilizing it.
It's 1 of a suite of Chinese-owned apps that radical person not been allowed to download since 2020, including messaging level WeChat.
Like bans successful the West, it is based connected information and privateness concerns.
TikTok had much than 200 cardinal users successful India astatine the time.
Taiwan
Like the US, Taiwan has enforced a prohibition connected TikTok from each nationalist assemblage devices.
The app could beryllium utilized by the Chinese authorities to behaviour "cognitive warfare" against Taiwan, authorities said.
It came amid concerns that Beijing could beryllium preparing for an invasion of the self-governing island.
Canada
Canadian authorities followed the US successful announcing a prohibition connected TikTok from authorities devices.
National and section authorities departments enforced the move, saying the app posed an "unacceptable risk".
Afghanistan
The Taliban banned TikTok past twelvemonth for "misleading the younger generation".
The radical itself has brought successful immense restrictions connected girls' acquisition since sweeping to powerfulness successful 2021.
It besides said that the app hosted contented that was "not accordant with Islamic laws".
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Previous bans
TikTok has besides been the taxable of impermanent bans successful a fig of countries.
Pakistan, Jordan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh are among those wherever the app has been blocked owed to contented deemed inappropriate oregon offensive.
And what astir China?
Somewhat ironically, immoderate of the toughest restrictions connected TikTok are successful China itself, which has its ain mentation of the app called Douyin.
Children determination who are under-14 are constricted to spending 40 minutes a time connected the platform, and tin lone beryllium utilizing it betwixt the hours of 6am and 10pm.
There are besides measures to halt them seeing inappropriate videos, and beryllium directed towards acquisition content.
English (US) ·