UK Bans TikTok on Government Devices, as US Pushes for the App to Separate from Chinese Ownership

After initially resisting calls to ban TikTok from authorities gadgets, the UK Government has now modified course, and introduced a direct ban of the Chinese-owned app on all Government worker telephones.

The announcement brings TikTok into line with the EU, which enacted a ban of TikTok on Government gadgets last month, whereas the vast majority of US states have now additionally banned the app from Government-owned phones.

As reported by The Guardian:

“The UK decision follows a review of TikTok by government cybersecurity experts that began in November, and will cover ministers’ and civil servants’ work phones, but not their personal phones. [Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden says] this is a ‘proportionate move based on a specific risk with government devices’.”

Amid rising world tensions, issues across the Chinese-owned app, and the potential for it for use as a spying system, have change into extra urgent, with many cybersecurity consultants warning that TikTok could possibly be used to trace citizen actions, and monitor person exercise.

And people studies do have precedent.

Late final yr, it was revealed that representatives from TikTok’s father or mother firm ByteDance had used TikTok knowledge to track the movements of US journalists, in a bid to uncover which ByteDance workers could also be leaking data to the press.

That is the important thing concern across the misuse of TikTok knowledge, and on this context, the expanding bans of the app on government-owned devices is sensible, as that could possibly be used as a vector to trace folks’s actions, and monitor who they’re assembly with.

For presidency workers, who could also be in possession of delicate info, there’s a stage of danger right here, so it does make sense for officers to be elevating the alarm, and taking motion on this circumstance.

The query then is whether or not the TikTok bans needs to be expanded to all customers, as is presently into account within the US. The newest on that entrance is that the White Home is reportedly pressuring TikTok to be sold off from its Chinese owners if it desires to maintain working within the area.

That’s virtually precisely what former President Donald Trump proposed back in 2020, which practically noticed TikTok bought to a consortium led by Oracle, earlier than the incoming Biden Administration abandoned those plans.

Now, it appears TikTok is being pressured to re-examine comparable choices – although it’s price noting that any sale of TikTok, as a Chinese asset, would additionally require approval from the Chinese Government, which has repeatedly expressed its disapproval of the varied bans of the app.

TikTok, too, continues to voice its opposition to those actions. On the UK ban, a TikTok spokesperson said:

“We believe these bans have been based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics, in which TikTok, and our millions of users in the UK, play no part. We remain committed to working with the government to address any concerns.”

Which, in fact, is the response you may anticipate, however it’s attention-grabbing to see TikTok making reference to geopolitical tensions, and invoking nationalistic fears, as a way to oppose the increasing bans.

Look, proper now, there doesn’t appear to be a transparent case for a full TikTok ban, as there wasn’t when the US initially proposed a ban beneath Trump in 2020. However that doesn’t imply that it received’t occur – and actually, it seems like we’re very, very near the sting on this, amid accusations of spying and worldwide interference on a number of fronts.   

The proposal to pressure TikTok right into a sell-off, if the US Government does press this, may probably safe billions in income for the corporate, and that looks like an excessive amount of to depart behind for TikTok, if it comes right down to it.

However once more, the Chinese Government could look to make an announcement as an alternative, and resist western bullying.

In essence, it possible will come right down to geopolitical tensions, a method or one other, and people tensions do appear to be carrying skinny proper now.