UK bans TikTok on government phones on security grounds

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British authorities say they’re banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from government mobile phones on security grounds, following similar moves by the U.S. and European Union. Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden told Parliament on Thursday that the ban will apply to work phones and other devices used by government ministers and civil servants. The ban doesn’t apply to personal phones and devices. The moves by the U.K. and other Western governments are prompted by growing concerns that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, would give user data such as browsing history and location to the Chinese government or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf. The company has insisted that such concerns are based on “misinformation.”