After New Zealand & UK, France bans TikTok from govt devices claiming cybersecurity risks

Paris, Mar 27: In the latest move to tackle the surge in privacy and cybersecurity-related risks, the government of France has banned the Chinese video-sharing application TikTok on government devices.

 

 

 

 

The French government has reportedly debarred TikTok on the work phones of public-sector employees. On Friday (Mar 24), French Public Service Minister Stanislas Guerini declared that TikTok, a Chinese-owned video-sharing software, would no longer be allowed on the work phones of civil servants. "In order to guarantee the cybersecurity of our administrations and civil servants, the government has decided to ban recreational applications such as TikTok on the professional phones of civil servants," he tweeted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transformation and Public Administration Minister Stanislas Guerini made the announcement on Friday (Mar 24). Amid security concerns, the video-sharing social networking service, Tik Tok earlier on March 17 was banned on the phones of New Zealand MPs, Auckland-based daily newspaper. As per the New Zealand Herald, the chief executive of the Parliamentary Service, Rafael Gonzalez-Montero stated that the "risks are not acceptable" given that strict actions are being taken all over the world, concerning social media service.

 

 

 

There is widespread concern that TikTok data could be compromised and sent to China. It comes after comparable actions in the US, UK, and Europe. India too imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. Concerns have mounted globally about the potential for the Chinese government to access users' location and contact data through ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company.

 

 

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