Two more countries ban TikTok from government devices

The United Kingdom and New Zealand have also banned TikTok from government devices, joining the United States, Canada, and the European Commission.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom announced that it had restricted TikTok from all government devices. It covers ministers' and civil servants' mobile phones. The Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden announced the bans "with immediate effect." Now, New Zealand has also joined the growing list of countries keeping TikTok away from government devices, announced by the parliament.

The Guardian reported that an email regarding New Zealand's TikTok ban was received a couple of days ago. "The Service has determined that the risks are not acceptable in the current New Zealand parliament environment. The decision to block the TikTok application has been made based on our own analysis and following discussion with our colleagues across government and internationally," the email reads.

The Guardian also added that multiple members of New Zealand MP use the application to post political videos. A spokesperson for the Act party said the party's TikTok account "is run from a personal phone free of parliamentary information. We have been taking this precaution for some time."

The list keeps getting longer

New Zealand is not the first country to keep TikTok away from government devices. Starting with the United States, Canada, and the European Commission, the United Kingdom has also issued similar restrictions.

The reason behind all these bans is the possibility of China collecting user data recorded by TikTok. All the countries are concerned that China could store sensitive data, surrounded by security threats. Also, it might be manipulating the algorithm to push pro-China content. On the other hand, TikTok has denied all the accusations and said the Chinese government couldn't access user data and algorithms. Added that the government hasn't asked for it, and also TikTok would refuse any future requests.

Recently, the tension between the United States and China has been gradually adding up, with both countries taking precautions against each other. First, the US shot China's surveillance balloon and sped up its investigations on TikTok, allowing the Biden administration to ban the app within its borders. Moreover, the US government demanded ByteDance to divest from TikTok over national security concerns.

If you want to dig deeper into TikTok accusations, we suggest you take a look at the "Do cybersecurity allegations against TikTok hold up?" article.

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