The U.K. parliament announced to block Chinese video-sharing application TikTok from all parliamentary devices and internet servers Thursday, a week after the usage of the app was banned from all government electronic devices in the U.K.
Last Thursday, Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden told the parliament: "The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review.”
TikTok requires users to give permission for the app to access data stored on the device, which is then collected and stored by the company. Allowing such permissions gives the company access to a range of data on the device, including contacts, user content, and geolocation data.
"The government, along with our international partners, is concerned about how this data may be used,” a government statement read.
Individual lawmakers who are dedicated users of TikTok, such as Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, will still be able to use the app on their own phones, but not when connected via parliament's own WiFi network.
The U.K. announced last week a security ban of TikTok on government devices, in line with action by the European Union and the United States.
Shapps, who has more than 14,000 followers on TikTok, said he would comply with the ban on his government phone, but still use the app on his own devices.
The devolved government of Scotland announced Thursday that it would also ban the app on its official devices.
TikTok's owner ByteDance and the Chinese government have dismissed the security fears over the app and denounced the Western bans as politically motivated.
