The European Commission has decided to exclude TikTok from all its smartphones and devices. A decision that follows that of the United States, where the question of a global ban is also on the table.
Small videos shared on TikTok may be entertaining, amazing or interesting. Nevertheless, they circulate through a mobile application of Chinese origin. And it has long been suspected of serving the interests of Beijing. Also, the European Commission has decided to ban the application among its staff.
Individuals are not affected
This is the website Euroactiv which reports the information, in its edition of February 23. The ban targets both corporate devices provided by Brussels, but also personal devices, when business apps linked to the European Commission are installed on them. Essentially, the measure targets smartphones.
The measure taken by the European Commission is limited to its members. TikTok remains fully available in Europe for the general public, whether on iOS, Android or the web – the apps have not been removed from the App Store and Google Play, for example.
The staff concerned have fifteen days to comply with the new instructions – with nevertheless an incentive to comply as quickly as possible. Two reasons are cited to justify this exclusion: the protection of personal data, but also cybersecurity – TikTok is sometimes accused of being a possible Trojan horse for espionage operations.
The European Commission is following in the footsteps of the United States here. End December, the Guardian noted that the US government approved a ban on the use of TikTok on federal government devices, for similar reasons. Today, the question even arises ofa general ban, nationwide.
In recent weeks, the application has regularly been the subject of controversy: its practices in the management of personal data have been denounced, as have the weak internal controls in the event of abuse targeting journalists. The service was also penalized for its management of cookies and for insufficient moderation in the face of misinformation or illegal content.
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