Britain’s parliament has joined the government in banning Tiktok over data privacy concerns, depriving lawmakers of access to the Chinese-owned video app via its internet network.
This announcement came on Thursday during the US Congress meeting with TikTok’s chief executive officer, Shou Zi Chew over its alleged ties to the communist government in Beijing.
According to the House of Commons and House of Lords, “The app will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network as Cyber security is a top priority for parliament.”
A Parliament spokesman said “Cyber security is a top priority for parliament, however, we do not comment on specific details of our cyber or physical security controls, policies, or incidents,” he said.
However, 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 provided the devices aren’t connected via the parliament’s own WiFi network.
Recently, the UK has announced a security ban on 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 also announced on Thursday that it would 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.