Global site navigation

Belgian government bans TikTok on official phones
Business and Economy

Belgian government bans TikTok on official phones

by  AFP 2 min read
Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to Chinese-owned TikTok
Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to Chinese-owned TikTok. Photo: JOEL SAGET / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Friday banned federal officials from using TikTok on their work phones, making his the latest country to take steps against the Chinese app.

A number of national governments in Europe have already restricted TikTok for government employees, over fears the authorities in Beijing could use the video-sharing network to access sensitive user data.

The European Union's governing institutions also told staff in recent weeks to purge the app from smartphones and laptops used for work purposes.

"We shouldn't be naive: TikTok is a Chinese business that is currently obliged to cooperate with the Chinese intelligence services," De Croo said.

"That is the reality."

The Belgian move -- in place for a preliminary six months -- follows a risk assessment into potential espionage by the country's cybersecurity and intelligence agencies.

Read also

TikTok seeks to calm Europe's fears over data privacy

PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!

It does not cover the usage of the video-sharing app on the personal phones of civil servants, ministers, or lawmakers.

Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

TikTok launched a new push to assuage European worries over security on Wednesday, saying the company was working with a third-party European security company to oversee and check how it handles data.

TikTok says its European user data will be stored at two centres in Dublin and one in Norway from 2023 onwards.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.

Hot: