EU executive arm bars employees from using TikTok, citing security risks

The European Commission, the manager arm of the EU, banned its workers from utilizing TikTok on their smartphones amid issues from Western governments in regards to the dangers the platform could pose to nationwide safety.

The fee mentioned workers would not have the ability to have the Chinese-owned app put in on company and private gadgets, citing issues over the way it handles consumer information.

“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,” the Commission mentioned in an announcement revealed Thursday.

“The security developments of other social media platforms will also be kept under constant review,” it added.

The transfer highlights the extra aggressive tone Europe has taken these days with regard to TikTok, which for a very long time has evaded regulatory scrutiny within the bloc. Lawmakers within the U.S. voted to dam the app in December and a few are calling for the service to be banned nationwide.

Western officers are involved in regards to the potential affect of China’s authorities over TikTok — specifically the chance it could allow Beijing to spy on residents. TikTok has admitted that information on its European customers could be accessed by workers based mostly in China, however denies it might ever share such data with the Chinese authorities.

Last month, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton warned the app could face a potential ban if it fails to adjust to its incoming Digital Services Act, which this summer season will impose sweeping necessities on TikTok, Twitter and several other different platforms to take away unlawful content material, curb disinformation, and higher defend minors.

“The European Commission’s suspension of TikTok on corporate devices is misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions,” Caroline Greer, head of public coverage at TikTok, mentioned on Twitter. “We have requested a meeting to set the record straight.”

“We are continuing to enhance our approach to data security — establishing three data centres in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe.”

TikTok is not but a behemoth on the scale of corporations like Meta, Alphabet and Amazon with regards to social media, promoting and e-commerce. But its rise within the area should not be underestimated. The platform now has 150 million customers in Europe, in keeping with an organization assertion final week.

TikTok, which employs 5,000 folks in Europe, has sought to allay regulators’ issues by outlining plans emigrate European customers’ data to information facilities in growth in Ireland. Last week, the agency introduced it might open a 3rd information middle within the nation.

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