In the US and Canada, government employees are being forced to remove the Chinese social media app TikTok from their work devices over security concerns.
In the United States, government authorities have 30 days to ensure that the video app is no longer used on company mobile phones and other devices, the administration of US President Joe Biden said Monday (local time).
In Canada, the ban has been in effect since Tuesday.
TikTok may also no longer be used on official mobile phones by employees of the European Commission.
TikTok belongs to the Chinese group Bytedance and is mainly used by young people. The app is also very popular in Western countries. At the same time, there has been criticism for some time that the data is not secure. It is also feared that the Chinese state could have access to it. TikTok denies that.
Why this drastic step?
Canadian minister Mona Fortier justified the ban in Ottawa with an “unacceptable risk to privacy and security”.
It was said to be a precautionary measure. There is currently no evidence of government information being compromised. However, TikTok’s collection methods allowed significant access to mobile device content. Therefore, downloading the app is blocked on government devices. Already downloaded apps should be uninstalled.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to a question about whether the government is also considering a total nationwide ban on TikTok:
The EU Commission had already announced on Thursday that it would ban TikTok on company mobile phones. In addition, the app must be removed from private devices on which apps from the European Commission are used by March 15 at the latest.
(dsc/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
