UK Cybersecurity Center Will Review Threats Posed by TikTok Amid Calls for Ban

Britain's Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, announced on Tuesday that he has asked the country's National Cyber Security Center to assess the potential threats posed by the Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok, according to a report by AP on Tuesday, March 14.

Tugendhat stated that he was awaiting a review from the government's cybersecurity experts before deciding on the "hugely important question" of whether to impose a ban on TikTok.

His comments came after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hinted that the UK could follow the US and the European Union in banning the app from government-issued mobile phones and devices.

Following the allies?

Sunak emphasized that the UK takes the security of devices seriously and looks at what its allies are doing. He stressed that the government would always take steps to protect the integrity and security of sensitive information.

Last month, the US government ordered federal agencies to delete TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices due to concerns that the app's parent company, ByteDance, could give user data such as browsing history and location to the Chinese government or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf.

The White House, US armed forces, Congress, and more than half of US states had already banned the app. The European Commission also temporarily banned the app from employee phones.

The UK's Parliament shut down its TikTok account just days after its launch amid concerns from lawmakers in 2022. Tugendhat argued that for many young people, TikTok is now a news source, and it is important to know who owns the news sources that are feeding into their phones, just as it is important to know who owns the news sources in the UK.

TikTok's Response

TikTok released a statement in response to the calls for a ban, stating that bans by other governments were "based on misplaced fears and seemingly driven by wider geopolitics."

The company emphasized that it would be disappointed if the UK imposed a ban and that it was committed to working with British authorities to address any concerns.

In related news, the short-form video app was recently banned from Belgium's government devices under the order of the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo. The Belgian national security council sent a warning to PM De Croo over the app's huge user data collection.

The ban echoes the same concerns of Western countries that have prohibited the app due to security concerns, specifically on how it could allegedly compromise government devices.