EC staff to remove TikTok from phones

Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) European Commission staff are to remove the TikTok app from corporate phones for security reasons, the EC announced on Thursday.

This makes it the first EU institution to ban the app as regulators have expressed concern that Beijing could use TikTok to harvest data and advance its interests, according to Reuters reporting on Thursday.

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, announced the ban but did not say whether it was a response to any incidents at the EC.

The US Senate passed a bill in December last year to ban TikTok from government-owned devices, while India banned the app altogether in 2020.

In a statement, the Commission stressed that the ban will apply to personal and work phones and other devices of its employees.

“To increase its cybersecurity, the Commission’s Corporate Management Board has decided to suspend the use of the TikTok application on its corporate devices and on personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile device service,” the body noted.

“This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission,” it concluded.

TikTok responds

TikTok expressed disappointment at the EC’s decision and pointed out that it was surprised the body did not reach out before making it.

“We believe this suspension is misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions,” a TikTok spokesperson stated and added “We have contacted the Commission to set the record straight and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU who come to TikTok every month.”

The EU Parliament noted that it is in contact with the EC and aware of its actions.

“Relevant services are also monitoring and assessing all possible data breaches related to the app and will consider the European Commission evaluation before formulating recommendations to European Parliament authorities,” an EP spokesperson announced.

The EC pointed out that it plans to keep a close eye on security developments at other platforms and continue to review the situation.Other countries that announced plans to restrict or ban TikTok, or implemented bans include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Taiwan.