Data Security: European Commission Bans TikTok on Staff Devices

The European Commission has instructed its employees to uninstall the TikTok application from their personal and corporate devices, citing reasons of data protection and enhanced cybersecurity. This move comes amid concerns that the Chinese firm ByteDance, which owns TikTok, may be involved in harvesting user data and passing it on to the Chinese government. However, TikTok has denied these allegations and maintained that it operates like any other social media platform.

The EU industry chief, Thierry Breton, emphasized the executive’s focus on cybersecurity during a news conference but did not provide any further information. The ban also extends to personal devices that have official apps installed, meaning that European Commission staff cannot use TikTok on such devices.

The European Commission has directed its approximately 32,000 permanent and contract employees to remove the TikTok app from their corporate and personal devices, citing concerns of data privacy and cybersecurity. The directive has set a deadline of March 15, after which non-compliant users will lose access to corporate apps, including email and Skype for Business. In response, a TikTok spokesperson expressed disappointment and argued that the decision was based on incorrect assumptions about the platform. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has faced scrutiny from the Western world over fears that the Chinese government could potentially access user data. Last year, TikTok admitted that some of its staff in China could access European users’ data.

The US government has already banned TikTok from federal government-issued devices due to national security concerns. The Dutch government and a UK MP have also raised similar concerns about the app. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew met with EU officials in January to discuss the platform’s data processing system.