France joins Tik Tok ban; also censors Netflix

The French government banned the use of TikTok on the cell phones of its 2.5 million civil servants for fear of espionage, as well as the use of “entertainment” applications, such as the U.S. platform Netflix.

On the subject, the French Minister of Civil Service, Stanislas Guerini explained this Friday that these applications present “risks in terms of cybersecurity and data protection of public servants and the administration“.

This measure is in addition to that of several countries that have taken the decision to block the use of the platform on government mobile devices.

TikTok is owned by the Chinese technology company Bytedance; the company assures that it does not share data with the Chinese regime.

The company acknowledges that it has a project to store user data in the United States, which it says will put it out of China’s reach. It also rejects accusations that it collects more user data than other social networking companies, and insists its management is independent.

Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and denied allegations that it is a national security risk.

In addition to France, many governments remain wary of the platform and its ties to China, these are :

• AFGHANISTAN
• BELGIUM
• CANADA
• DENMARK
• UNITED STATES
• INDIA
• NEW ZEALAND
• NORWAY
• PAKISTAN
• UNITED KINGDOM
• TAIWAN
• EUROPEAN UNION

The TikTok platform has more than one billion fifty-one million monthly active users (MAUs) worldwide, according to data taken from ByteDance Ltd. reports in January of 2023.

TYT Newsroom