TikTok banned from EU Commission phones over cybersecurity

Executive office of European Union announced Thursday that TikTok has been temporarily prohibited from phones used by staff as a cybersecurity measure, underscoring growing concerns among Western officials about the Chinese-owned video sharing app.

The Corporate Management Board of the European Commission has banned the use of TikTok on any work-related devices, whether they are company-issued or employees’ own.

Because of concerns that the massively popular app may be used to promote pro-Beijing ideas or sweep up users’ information, TikTok is coming under increasing scrutiny from Europe and the United States over security and data privacy. A bigger technological tug of war between China and the West has been going on, including everything from surveillance balloons to computer chips.

In the United States, more than half of the states and Congress have banned TikTok on official government devices, thus the European Union’s action is not unexpected.

At a press event in Brussels, commission spokesman Sonya Gospodinova explained, “The reason why this decision has been reached is to… enhance the commission’s cybersecurity.” The resolution “also intends to defend the commission from cybersecurity threats and acts that may be utilized for cyberattacks against the commission’s business environment,” as the text puts it.