8 Countries That Ban Government Employees from Using TikTok Over Security Concerns
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5 July 2024 11:18 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - TikTok is popular for offering interesting content in short videos that are liked by many. However, several developed countries have decided to block TikTok for their country's government employees due to a number of domestic concerns.
Below are the countries that have banned the use of TikTok by government employees.
- USA
The United States Senate passed a bill on April 23, 2024, prohibiting the use of TikTok if the social media's owner, ByteDance, does not divest its shares to parties outside of China within 9-12 months of the bill's enactment. US President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 24, 2024. U.S. politicians consider TikTok a national security threat because it is owned by China's ByteDance, fearing the data of 170 million U.S. users will be handed over to the Chinese government.
- Canada
On February 28, 2023, Canada announced that it was banning TikTok from all government-issued devices claiming that the app poses "unacceptable" risks to privacy and security. Employees are also prohibited from downloading the app in the future. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that further action may or may not be taken.
- Norway
On March 23, the Norwegian parliament banned Tiktok from work devices after the country's Ministry of Justice warned that the app shouldn't be installed on phones issued to government employees. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said in a statement that "in their risk assessments ... the Norwegian intelligence services identify Russia and China as the main risk factors for Norway's security interests."
