Amid rising concerns over Chinese cybersecurity threats, calls have been made for Rishi Sunak to follow the lead of the EU and US by prohibiting the use of TikTok by government officials.
Due to concerns that Beijing can access data, officials in both Europe and the US have been advised to restrict their use of the Chinese-owned social video app.
The European Commission has decided to suspend the use of TikTok on devices issued to staff and personal phones that have official apps installed. This decision comes after Washington’s ban on federal employees using the app on work devices last year.
Despite mounting pressure to prohibit parliamentary staff and MPs from using TikTok, the prime minister is currently resisting such calls. The app has gained popularity among UK politicians in recent times.
A spokesperson for No. 10 stated that they are not aware of any ban on the use of TikTok by Downing Street staff. According to the spokesperson, individual departments and ministers can choose which social media platforms they wish to use, although the No. 10 has a TikTok account, it has not been updated in some time. On Thursday, Conservative MP Luke Evans posted a 48-second video on the app, giving his 41,000 followers a glimpse into what it is like to go through security to enter No. 10.
“We’ve now seen both the EU and US take decisive action on TikTok over security concerns: the acquisition of our personal data by a hostile state. We run the risk of becoming a tech security laggard amongst free and open nations.”
said Alicia Kearns, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee.
“The government needs to reconsider its policies and move to ban government officials and parliamentary staff from installing the app on any mobile phones utilised for work. We need an informed discussion across our country, including with our children, about the importance of our data and all it can reveal about us, and how it can make us vulnerable.”
Conservative MP Tim Loughton, who represents East Worthing and Shoreham, has called on the prime minister to take decisive action against Chinese state threats.
Loughton argued that TikTok is essentially a “mega state-affiliated data harvesting organization” that the UK should not treat on an equal footing with other multinational companies in the West.
Meanwhile, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith criticized the UK government’s lack of action against TikTok, even after security experts warned of the app’s potential security risks to the country. Smith accused the government of dragging its feet, possibly to avoid upsetting China.
Last year, Parliament’s TikTok account was closed down due to concerns raised by Alicia Kearns and several Conservative MPs over the app’s links to China.
In the summer of 2020, a letter from former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Tom Tugendhat, and Vice-Chair of the 1922 Committee Nus Ghani claimed that “data security risks associated with the app are considerable”.
Despite the concerns, some prominent UK politicians continue to use the app. Former health secretary and reality TV contestant Matt Hancock is a regular user, while energy secretary Grant Shapps also has an account.
In contrast, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace expressed caution about the app and advised people to be careful about what they put on social media. Wallace pointed out that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, and people who use the app may be sharing their data with more than just the person publishing it.
It remains to be seen whether the UK government will take further action against TikTok in light of growing concerns about the app’s security risks. While some politicians continue to use the app, others have urged caution and highlighted the need for stricter regulations on data collection and protection.
