TikTok claims it has more than a billion users worldwide including over 100 million in the United States, where it has become a cultural force, especially among young people. The company "should be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors", the spokesperson added. In London, the UK government phone ban, imposed with "immediate effect", follows a risk assessment by experts of third-party apps in relation to sensitive data.Īs a result, government devices will only be allowed to access apps on a pre-approved list, which does not include TikTok.Īnnouncing the move, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told British lawmakers it was "precautionary" and "good cyber-hygiene".īut it is likely to rile Beijing, following the banning of tech firm Huawei's involvement in the roll-out of the UK's 5G network and several other blocks on Chinese investment in critical infrastructure and firms.Ī TikTok spokesperson said it was "disappointed" with the decision and that such bans were "based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics". The bill's introduction and quick White House backing accelerated the political momentum against TikTok, which is also the target of a separate piece of legislation in the US House of Representatives.Īppearing tough on China is one of the rare issues with potential for bipartisan support in both the Republican-run House and the Senate, where Biden's Democratic Party holds the majority. The White House last week welcomed a bill introduced in the US Senate that would allow President Joe Biden to ban TikTok over risks the app poses to Americans' sensitive data and national security. "Data security issues should not be used as a tool for some countries to overstretch the concept of national security, abuse state power and unjustifiably suppress other countries' enterprises," he added. "The US has so far failed to produce evidence that TikTok threatens US national security," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing. The White House was reported on Wednesday to have told the app that it will be banned in the United States if it continues to be owned by the Beijing-based tech firm.Ī TikTok spokesperson told AFP that "calls for a ban or divestment are unnecessary", insisting that "the best path forward to addressing concerns about national security is transparent, US-based protection of US user data and systems."īeijing also hit back against the ultimatum, urging Washington to "stop unreasonably suppressing" TikTok. It came as the UK announced a security ban on the video app on government devices, in line with action by Washington and Brussels.īritain joins the US and EU in taking an increasingly firm approach towards the platform, owned by the Chinese firm Bytedance, citing fears that user data could be used or abused by Chinese officials. BEIJING: China urged the United States to stop "unreasonably suppressing" TikTok on Thursday, after Washington gave the popular video-sharing app an ultimatum to part ways with its Chinese owners or face a nationwide ban.
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