TikTok banned from EU Commission phones over cybersecurity

The European Union’s executive branch said yesterday that it has temporarily banned TikTok from phones used by employees as a cybersecurity measure, reflecting widening worries from Western officials over the Chinese-owned video sharing app.

In a first for the European Commission, its Corporate Management Board suspended the use of TikTok on devices issued to staff or personal devices that staff use for work.

TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny from Europe and the U.S. over security and data privacy amid worries that the hugely popular app could be used to promote pro-Beijing views or sweep up users’ information. It comes as China and the West are locked in a wider tug of war over technology ranging from spy balloons to computer chips.

The EU’s action follows similar moves in the U.S., where more than half of the states and Congress have banned TikTok from official government devices.

“The reason why this decision has been taken is to … increase the commission’s cybersecurity,” commission spokesperson Sonya Gospodinova said at a press briefing in Brussels. “Also, the measure aims to protect the commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks against the corporate environment of the commission.”

Caroline Greer, TikTok’s Brussels-based public policy official, tweeted that the suspension “is misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions.” MDT/AP