LONDON, March 24: In the latest ban placed on Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, the app will be blocked from parliamentary devices and networks in the UK, Sky News reported. The committees of the House of Commons and the House of Lords have announced that they will follow the measure taken by the government on official devices, citing the need for cyber security, according to Sky News. According to a parliament spokesperson, TikTok “will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network.”
“Cyber security is a top priority for parliament, however we do not comment on specific details of our physical or cyber security controls, policies or incidents,” he was quoted as saying by Sky News. The app can still be used on personal devices while on Parliament grounds, as long as the devices are not connected to the Parliament’s WiFi network. The move was welcomed by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith. He called for the ban to be extended to ministers’ personal devices. He tweeted: “The decision to block TikTok from all parliamentary devices is welcome, a good decision.”
“Given this strong position in parliament following the ban on TikTok on government phones, now is the time for TikTok to be banned on ministers’ personal phones as well.” reported the New Zealand Herald. According to the New Zealand Herald, the chief executive of the Parliamentary Service, Rafael González-Montero, stated that the “risks are not acceptable” given that strict measures are being taken around the world regarding the social networking service.
The executive briefed New Zealand MPs on the new move after Britain banned the Chinese-owned video app on government phones with immediate effect, recently overnight.
Due to concerns that the Chinese government could access user data from TikTok, which is controlled by the Beijing-based corporation ByteDance, endangering Western security interests, the app has received global outrage, reported the Auckland-based newspaper.
(RSS/ANI)
