Day after day, the number of countries imposing bans or financial fines on the famous Chinese “Tik Tok” application is increasing, due to security concerns and allegations of privacy violations.
The United States, Canada and the European Union are at the top of the countries that have announced a ban on using the application on government agencies.
In response to the ban, the company, “ByteDance”, which owns the application, said in a statement, “It is disappointing to see government agencies and institutions banning the application on employee devices without evidence.”
And she explained that she “appreciates that some governments have chosen wisely not to implement the ban, because there is no evidence or need for that,” according to “ABC” news network.
“We share a common goal with governments concerned about user privacy, but these bans are misleading and do nothing to enhance privacy or security,” she added.
This is a list of countries that have banned the application or imposed financial fines on it during the past years:
** Turkey
The Personal Data Protection Board in Turkey imposed a fine of 1,750,000 Turkish liras (about 93,000 dollars) on the app for displaying children’s personal information, collecting data in an unauthorized way, and violating the law.
This came within the framework of an investigation conducted by the Council against the background of complaints about the application’s failure to obtain “express consent” in accordance with Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698, and the existence of irregularities in obtaining and storing personal data, and that it contains many security gaps.
According to the text of the decision published on the Council’s website, on the first of March, the investigation included examining the privacy policy and terms of service.
It was found that the application had performed an update in January 2021, and changed the default privacy settings for user accounts between the ages of 13 and 15.
** Canada
On February 27, the Canadian government said that it had “conducted a review of the TikTok application, and determined that it represented an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”
The Canadian Treasury Board said in a statement, “The application will be removed from all government mobile devices, and users of these devices will be prevented from downloading the application in the future.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, in press statements, last Monday, that banning the application is “the first step to taking further measures.”
** European Union
On February 21, the European Commission asked its employees to remove the TikTok app from their devices, due to security concerns.
The commission said in a statement that it would “suspend the use of the TikTok application on its institutional and personal devices linked to its system.”
The statement stated that “the measures aim to protect the institutions and employees of the European Union from threats regarding cyber security, and any measures that may be exploited in electronic attacks.”
** United State
In December 2022, the US Senate passed a bill to prevent federal employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices.
And the “Wall Street Journal” reported that “the Senate unanimously approved a bill banning federal employees from downloading or using the TikTok application on government devices.”
She pointed out that the Senate previously passed a similar bill in Congress, but it was not put to a vote in the House of Representatives.
Recently, the White House said in a statement that “US government agencies have 30 days to ensure that the app is removed from federal devices and systems.”
“We’ll continue to look at what other actions we can take,” White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said at a news briefing. And that includes how we work with Congress on this issue further.”
More than half of US states have taken steps to “partially or completely ban” the app on government agencies, according to local media.
** Britain
In August 2022, the British Parliament announced the closure of its account on the TikTok platform, after a number of MPs raised concerns about the social media company’s relationship with the Chinese government.
“Based on the members’ comments, we are closing the trial account of the British Parliament on TikTok, earlier than we had planned,” the Parliament’s spokesman said in a press statement.
Prior to that, British MPs, in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, expressed concern about the data being sent to the Chinese government.
Temporary ban
In Jordan, the Cybercrime Unit of the Public Security Directorate announced, in December 2022, that the TikTok application was suspended “temporarily due to publications that incite violence and chaos.”
The unit stated in a statement that it and the cybercrime teams are “following up what is published on social media, especially with regard to hate speech, incitement to vandalism, assaults on law enforcement agencies, property and blocking roads.”
The statement said, “The TikTok platform did not deal with misuse by its users, and therefore its services in the Kingdom were temporarily suspended.”
The app also faced a “temporary ban” for all users in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan over the spread of content deemed “inappropriate” by government officials.
** Taiwan
Taiwan launched an investigation in December 2022 into the TikTok app, claiming that the platform was “operating illegally” in the country.
The country’s affairs council said in a statement that one of the companies contracting with the app “is setting up shop and conducting business in Taiwan,” in contravention of the ban on the app’s business activities in Taiwan.
The council stated that “China uses TikTok and other video applications to form public opinion within the country,” warning of “the danger of the Chinese government collecting personal information about users.”
** India
And in 2020, India imposed a “total ban” on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, citing concerns about data privacy and national security.
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