Explained: Why are countries banning TikTok?
New Zealand on Friday becamethe latest entrant to the list of countries that have banned TikTok on all devices with access to its lawmakers amidst rising concerns over national and cybersecurity.
The country’s parliamentarians were informed via e-mail that the Chinese-owned video-sharing app would be blocked from all parliamentary devices at the end of the month, adding that “the service has determined that the risks are not acceptable in the current New Zealand parliament environment”.
“The decision to block theTikTokapplication has been made based on our own analysis and following discussion with our colleagues across government and internationally,” the email reads, according to Guardian.
What are the national security concerns about TikTok?
TikTok is owned by Beijing-based technology giant ByteDance, and boasts of at least a billion users worldwide. It was launched in September 2017 after the Chinese firm purchased Musical.ly—a social app that was growing in popularity in the US—for $1 billion in November 2017, following which the two were merged in August 2018.
In the past three to four years, the app has witnesseda meteoric rise worldwide and is one of the most popular applications in the world.However, its humongous success is accompanied by a fair share of scepticism and concerns over cybersecurity.
The primary concern raised by many countries is that the app could be used to collect sensitive information from users.
China is one of the rare socialist countries that has successfully imbibed capitalist values in its businesses. Many private and tech companies have thrived well in this setup.
However, the fact the state regime has control over every industry has lentcredence to the belief that every tech product that comes out of China can be used by the regime to collect information about users.
In the past, TikTok has been accused of “aggressive” data collection, as it collects personal information like users’ name, location, passwords, phone numbers, andeven keystroke patterns.
TikTok has, nevertheless, maintained that the data it collects is not shared with the Chinese government and that itoperates independently.
But under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, companies can bemandatedto share information with Beijing.
Which countries have banned TikTok?
As many as nine countries and the European Union have banned the use of TikTok on government devices. These are:
India: The country was one of the first ones to ban TikTok and other Chinese apps in 2020 soon after the Galwan Valley incident, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a confrontation with Chinese troops along the disputed Himalayan border near Ladakh.
In a statement, the government had said the apps were “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
European Union: The European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council have all banned its staff members from downloading TikTok on their official phones.
United Kingdom:On Thursday, the United Kingdom said that they are prohibiting the use of the app on government phones with immediate effect.
Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden in a statement said that following a review by Britain’s cybersecurity experts it is “clear that there could be a risk around how sensitive government data is accessed and used by certain platforms.”
United States: In March, President the Joe Biden's administration issued an ultimatum to the government agencies that they have 30 days to delete the app from federal devices and systems. It also threatened to ban TikTok across the country if the social media company’s Chinese owners don’t divest their stakes in it, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
Canada: Following the US government’s announcement, Canada also issued similar orders on the use of TikTok, saying that the app presented an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security.
Belgium: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on March 10 announced that his government was banning TikTok from government phones over concerns regarding cybersecurity, privacy and misinformation.
We are in a new geopolitical context where influence and surveillance between states have shifted to the digital world,” he said.
“We must not be naive: TikTok is a Chinese company that today is obliged to cooperate withintelligence services. This is the reality. Prohibiting its use on federal service devices is common sense,” he added.
Denmark: On March 6, the Defence Ministry prohibited “the use of the app on official units” after assessing that there was a risk of espionage.
Taiwan: In December 2022, Taiwan not only banned TikTok from its government-related devices but also opened a probe into the social media company on suspicion of illegally operating a subsidiary on the island. The allegation was denied by TikTok.
Pakistan:The authorities of Pakistan have temporarily banned the app across the nation several times since 2020, saying that its content is “immoral” and “obscene”.
Afghanistan:In April 2022, the Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan ordered a ban on the video-sharing app and online gamePUBG, claiming they were leading Afghan youths “astray”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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