UK banning TikTok on official devices

The UK government will ban TikTok on official devices.

A review by the National Cyber Security Centre will advise that the Chinese-owned app should be barred from government phones, the Press Association reported.

It follows similar moves in the United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app.

Other countries such as India have blocked the app entirely. Tom Tugendhat, the UK’s security minister, had previously indicated that the government had not ruled out a total ban.

The US has also said that it could ban the app entirely if TikTok’s Chinese parent company, Bytedance, does not sell it.

The UK has been under pressure to follow those other countries and announce its own restrictions on the app, at least on government devices.

Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden will announce details of the new ban in the Commons on Thursday, PA reported.

The UK and other countries have indicated that the Chinese ownership of TikTok is a concern, and pointed to security and privacy worries about the app.

Critics argue that it would be possible for user data to be transferred to the Chinese government, through Bytedance. That could put western security at risk, governments have argued.

TikTok said bans have been based on “misplaced fears and seemingly driven by wider geopolitics”, saying it would be “disappointed by such a move” in the UK. It has strongly denied that it makes user data available to the Chinese government.

The UK had previously been relatively free about the use of TikTok. Some ministers, such as Grant Shapps and technology minister Michelle Donelan, actively post on the platform.