In a major blow to the Chinese video streaming platform, TikTok, New York has ordered its government employees to uninstall the application citing a “threat to national security”. In a statement, New York Mayor Eric Adams’ has confirmed that his administration has banned the platform from all government mobile phones, computers, and tablets.
“While social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another and the city, we have to ensure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner,” Politico quoted City Hall spokesperson Jonah Allon as saying in a statement.
“NYC Cyber Command regularly explores and advances proactive measures to keep New Yorkers’ data safe. As part of these ongoing efforts, NYC Cyber Command determined that the TikTok application posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks and directed its removal from city-owned devices,” it added.
- Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership banned TikTok and the game PUBG in 2022 on the grounds of protecting young people from “being misled.”
- TikTok was banned from devices issued by the Australian federal government. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he made the decision after getting advice from the country’s intelligence and security agencies.
- Belgium temporarily banned TikTok from devices owned or paid for by the federal government, citing worries about cybersecurity, privacy, and misinformation.
- Canada announced that government-issued devices must not use TikTok, saying that it presents an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security.
- Denmark’s Defense Ministry banned its employees from having TikTok on their work phones, ordering staffers who have installed it to remove the app from devices as soon as possible.
- The European Parliament, European Commission, and the EU Council, the 27-member bloc’s three main institutions, have imposed bans on TikTok on staff devices.
- The French government’s statement didn’t name specific apps but noted the decision came after other governments took measures targeting TikTok. “Recreational” use of TikTok and other social media apps like Twitter and Instagram on government employees’ phones has been banned.
- India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps like messaging app WeChat in 2020 over privacy and security concerns.
- Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted that he deleted his TikTok account and that the app is also prohibited from official foreign ministry smartphones.
- The Netherlands, the Dutch central government banned apps including TikTok from employee work phones citing data security concerns.
- Lawmakers in New Zealand and staff at the nation’s Parliament will be prohibited from having the TikTok app on their work phones, following advice from government cybersecurity experts.
- The Norwegian parliament banned Tiktok on work devices after the country’s Justice Ministry warned the app shouldn’t be installed on phones issued to government employees.
- Pakistani authorities have temporarily banned TikTok at least four times since October 2020, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral content.
- Taiwan imposed a public sector ban on TikTok after the FBI warned that TikTok posed a national security risk. Government devices are not allowed to use Chinese-made software.
- British authorities (United Kingdom) banned TikTok from mobile phones used by government ministers and civil servants with immediate effect. Officials said the ban was a “precautionary move” on security grounds and doesn’t apply to personal devices.
- The U.S. at the start of March gave government agencies 30 days to delete TikTok from federal devices and systems over data security concerns. The ban applies only to government devices, though some U.S. lawmakers are advocating an outright ban.
China lashed out at the U.S. for banning TikTok, describing the ban as an abuse of state power and suppressing firms from other countries. More than half of the 50 U.S. states also have banned the app from official devices, as have Congress and the U.S. armed forces.
(With inputs from agencies)
