On February 24, Reuters reported that the European Commission has banned its employees from using TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform, on their official devices and personal devices with work-related apps installed due to cybersecurity concerns. This marks the first time the commission has prohibited its staff from using an app. According to a commission spokesman, Sonya Gospodinova, the move aims to protect the commission against cybersecurity threats and actions that could be exploited for cyberattacks. TikTok has responded by stating that this suspension is misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions, and that it is working to improve the data security of its 125 million users in the EU.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform globally, is under scrutiny from US and European lawmakers due to concerns that Beijing could force the platform to hand over user data or influence the videos that users view. In December 2022, the US Congress passed legislation to ban TikTok on devices issued to members of the House of Representatives after more than a dozen states enforced similar prohibitions. Despite a report from the Georgia Institute of Technology indicating that TikTok poses no greater risk of surveillance or influence operations than its peers such as Facebook, regulators have continued to pay attention to the platform due to its connections with its China-based parent company, ByteDance. In December, ByteDance found that some of its staff had misused their authority to access TikTok user data in the US, undermining public trust in the company’s efforts to build user trust.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-commission-staff-told-remove-tiktok-phones-eu-industry-chief-says-2023-02-23/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/business/european-union-tik-tok.html

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/30/us-tiktok-ban-government-devices-china

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3206193/tiktok-doesnt-pose-security-threat-us-new-academic-study-says?module=inline&pgtype=article

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3204318/chinas-bytedance-finds-staff-inappropriately-gained-access-tiktok-user-data-us?module=inline&pgtype=article