The European Parliament has told staff to purge TikTok from devices used for work because of data protection concerns, after similar moves by the European Union's main governing bodies last week.
The parliament's president, Roberta Metsola, and the secretary-general, Alessandro Chiocchetti, decided TikTok must not be used or installed on staff devices such as mobile phones, tablets or laptops from March 20, according to a note issued Tuesday.
"As of this date, web access to TikTok through our corporate network... will also be blocked," the parliament's directorate-general for innovation and technological support said in the note to around 8,000 of the institution's employees.
It also "strongly recommended" MEPs and their staff remove TikTok from their personal devices.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, and the European Council, which represents 27 EU member states, ordered a similar ban Thursday over cybersecurity fears.
TikTok said the bans were "misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions" and called for "due process and equal treatment."
The company added the decision was taken "on the basis of fears rather than facts."
There have been a slew of similar actions in the past few days following in Washington's footsteps against the popular video-sharing platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
The West is particularly concerned about what access China has to sensitive user data around the world, but TikTok strenuously denies Beijing has any control or access.
In November, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users.
Last week, however, the company insisted it protects the data of its 125 million monthly users in the EU.
The White House on Monday gave federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices after a ban ordered by the U.S. Congress late last year.
On the same day, Canada's government banned TikTok from all phones and other devices, citing similar data protection concerns amid strained Canadian-Chinese relations.
In Europe, Denmark's parliament announced Tuesday it had asked deputies and all staff to remove the app from mobile devices because of the "risk of spying."
China says the ban on the use of TikTok by official EU institutions will harm business confidence in Europe.
TikTok is wildly popular among teens, but there are concerns China could use its legal and regulatory powers to obtain private user data or to try to push misinformation or narratives favoring China on the platform.
China has been pushing back, though its ruling Communist Party has long blocked many foreign social media platforms and messaging apps, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. A Chinese version of the app, Douyin, is permitted, but its content is not the same as that found on TikTok.
"The EU claims to be the most open market in the world, but recently it has been taking restrictive measures and unreasonably suppressing other countries’ companies on the grounds of national security," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing Wednesday.
“This will dampen the international community’s confidence in the business environment in the EU,” Mao said.
“The EU should match its words with deeds, respect the market economy and fair competition, stop overstretching and abusing the concept of national security and provide an open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for all companies,” Mao said.
In the U.S., federal agencies, in the guidance issued Monday, have 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices. The White House already did not allow TikTok on its devices.
