Data access for China
Thus, Beijing is responding to the news that the US government is asking ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok, the Wall Street Journal writes based on people familiar with the matter. If the Chinese tech company does not sell its social media app, a ban on this widely used app in the US is imminent. TikTok confirmed to AFP that the US government had pushed for the sale of TikTok.
The app, which is particularly popular with young people, has come under fire since the company admitted some employees had access to data from users in the US and Europe. This is also the case in the Netherlands. Secretary of State Alexandra van Hoevelin addresses TikTok on the subject. More and more governments and parliaments are banning TikTok on their employees’ work phones and other business devices for fear of data theft and espionage.
New ban in the UK
The latest country to ban TikTok on government work phones is the United Kingdom, which announced its decision on Thursday. The British government wants to move to a system where government agencies can only access apps on an approved list.
The government announced just before last Christmas, that a Dutch TikTok ban was not under discussion. Our country’s government is first awaiting an investigation by Ireland’s privacy regulator, which acts on behalf of the European Union. This supervisory DPC is expected to complete early this year.
to update:
Added a new ban on TikTok in the UK, as well as the Dutch pending Irish investigation.
