In just a few months, the use of TikTok on government devices has been restricted in several countries due to concerns about the Chinese ownership of the platform, including the United States.
The platform has faced increasing scrutiny over its data-sharing practices with its parent company, ByteDance.
But TikTok maintains that it operates independently and does not share data with the Chinese government. To address concerns, the company also said that it is currently working on a project to store American user data in the US to put it out of China’s reach. It also refutes allegations that it collects any more user data than other social media companies do.
However, despite TikTok’s defence of its data practices, several countries continue to express reservations about the platform and its relationship with China.
Here are the countries that have invoked partial or total bans on the app:
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Belgium
- Canada
- Denmark
- France
- India
- Latvia
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
- United States
The European Commission, NATO, and various federal governments worldwide have prohibited their employees from using TikTok on their official mobile devices.
After each ban, TikTok has contended that the restrictions are baseless, unfair, and enacted without any proof that the app presents a security risk.
However, following its ban in the UK the company expressed its willingness to cooperate with the government to resolve any concerns but believes that it should be evaluated based on factual evidence and treated fairly in comparison to its competitors.
TikTok also noted that it is taking proactive steps, both technical and bureaucratic, to isolate the data of US and EU users from its worldwide operations in order to address the security concerns.
Additionally, TikTok has affirmed that it has not received any requests from the Chinese government for user information and will resist any such demands.
