Institutions and governments put TikTok in the crosshairs for security

International institutions and governments have put TikTok in their sights due to the security doubts generated by this Chinese application and they recommend or directly ask to remove it from their official devices.

Community sources confirmed to EFE today that the European Parliament has decided, like other European Union institutions, to ban the Chinese application TikTok on the corporate phones of its workers and MEPs, in addition to recommending that it not be installed on personal devices.

The suspension of this application on smartphones and tablets of the European Parliament will take place from March 20, these sources specified: “The TikTok app, once downloaded and installed on these devices, should be uninstalled as soon as possible”the sources stressed.

This decision is adopted by the European Parliament in view of the “cybersecurity concerns”in particular with regard to data protection and data collection by third parties.

On February 23, the European Commission (EC) and the Council of the European Union (EU) announced that they will dispense with TikTok on their official mobile devices, at a time when they want to better protect security against the increase in cyber attacks.

THE WHITE HOUSE ALREADY TAKEN THE STEP

This February 28, the White House announced that it was giving US federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government electronic devices.

The order was given by the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young, in a memorandum addressed to all government agencies and their private contractors.

In this way, the Government of President Joe Biden complies with a bill passed in the US Congress. at the end of last year that requires federal agencies to suppress TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, due to fear that user data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government.

US officials have raised concerns that the Chinese government could pressure ByteDance to hand over information it collects from TikTok users, which could be used for intelligence or disinformation purposes.

CHINA ANSWERS

The application currently has some 800 million active users worldwide and the ban worries Beijing, whose government yesterday accused the United States of “abuse their state powerand of his “concept of national security” after Washington announced the ban on TikTok from government devices.

Chinese Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday at a press conference that the United States “abuses” by “unjustifiably repressing companies from other countries”. “The United States, a great power, shows a lack of self-confidence by fearing an application popular with young people”, he added

The spokeswoman urged the United States to “to create an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for companies around the world to invest in and operaten” in its territory.

Days ago TikTok already requested a meeting with those responsible for the European Union to clarify doubts about security.

As the company said in a statement, it was “surprised“Because the community institution had not previously contacted them or had “offered no explanation.”

The European Commission met in January with the CEO of the Chinese company, Shou Zi Chew, whom it already threatened to ban its use in the European Union. “if it does not prevent minors from having access to potentially deadly videos” and if it does not prevent user data from being transferred to third countries.

OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE ALSO ACTING

Last Monday the Canadian government announced the ban since yesterday that federal employees use the TikTok application on official cell phones for posing an “unacceptable” risk to their privacy and security.

Mona Fortier, chairwoman of the Canadian Treasury Board, said that “Users of these devices will also be blocked from downloading the app in the future. Following a review of TikTok, Canada’s CIO determined that it poses an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” explained.

Last week the Australian Electronic Security Commission reported that it has asked the social networks Twitter and TikTok and the search engine Google to explain to the authorities their policy and measures to combat the publication of material on child sexual exploitation on their platforms.

These companies will have to explain what they have done to combat the growing problems of sexual extortion and the role of algorithms that recommend sexual content and amplify the spread of this illicit material.

Already in June 2020, India decided to block dozens of Chinese applications, including Tiktok, considering them “harmful to the sovereignty and integrity” of the country, after an episode of border tension.

That same year, Pakistan banned that app for its content. “obscene and immoral” although it later lifted the veto after receiving guarantees from the Chinese company that it would block this type of content.

Source: EFE