UK Imposes 'Immediate' TikTok Ban From Government Phones

(Photo : Photo Illustration by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Concerns that ByteDance, which owns TikTok, may give user data to the Chinese government and endanger Western security have prompted the app's ban on UK government phones.

Britain announced on Thursday that it would ban TikTok on government phones immediately, joining other Western nations that have prohibited the Chinese-owned video-sharing app due to data security considerations.

In a statement, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said that the TikTok ban on government devices was made as the "security of sensitive government information must come first" and "the usage of other data-extracting applications will be kept under review." Reuters reported.

Cabinet Office Minister Dowden made the statement on Thursday in the House of Commons. He said the TikTok ban was occurring "with immediate effect," per The Guardian.

TikTok has been subject to a deeper investigation because of concerns that user data from the app, owned by ByteDance, may end up in the possession of the Chinese government and endanger Western security interests.

The British government has requested that the National Cyber Security Centre investigate the hazards associated with the accessibility and usage of critical government data via social networking applications.

TikTok Says Measure Is Based on 'Misplaced Fears'

Though, Dowden noted that TikTok ban exceptions would be considered by the government on a "case-by-case" basis. The UK official also said that the government will shift to a system in which phones will only have access to third-party applications that are on a pre-approved list, per Yahoo! Entertainment.

The European Union, Canada, and other Western countries, including the United States, have implemented a similar TikTok ban.

Earlier this week, TikTok stated the restrictions are founded on "misplaced fears" and presumably motivated by broader geopolitics, adding that it would be "disappointed" by such a measure in the UK.