TIKTOK is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, with millions of users across the world.
However, several governments have taken steps to ban the app due to concerns about the data used on the platform and who it is being handled by.
ReutersTikTok is facing fresh controversy after accusations that the app is passing on private data to the Chinese government[/caption]
Could TikTok be banned in the UK?
The app has been banned on UK government devices due to the concern of government data being leaked.
This decision was taken on March 16, 2023, as the government wanted to ensure cybersecurity.
MPs who still have the app will find the service blocked if they try and use it over Parliamentary wifi.
However, there has been no information to suggest that any steps are going to be taken to ban the app from the wider public.
How many people in the UK use TikTok?
The UK is thought to have at least 23.3 million users of the app.
This was revealed in data released by Ofcom in 2022.
The data also showed that TikTok was the fastest-growing source of news between 2020 and 2022.
The popular app – known for its memes, dances, and trends – exploded during lockdown.
But TikTok’s Chinese roots have come under scrutiny as governments raise security concerns over the app’s potential ties to the Chinese state.
There are also questions regarding surveillance technology within the app, potential breaches of personal data and other matters including safety of users and regulation of content.
At present there is no parental lock or way of policing the app.
Will TikTok be banned in the US and other countries?
On Wednesday, March 13, 2024, the House of Representatives passed legislation that could potentially ban TikTok in the US unless the app parts ways from its parent company, ByteDance.
The legislation must now pass the Senate, but if it does, US President Joe Biden confirmed that he would sign the bill into law.
The legislation gives TikTok about five months to cut ties with ByteDance.
REUTERS/Nathan HowardTikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 31, 2024[/caption]
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed a bill that will potentially ban TikTok in the United States.
The bill will give ByteDance nine months or a year to sell the popular video-sharing app or face a nationwide ban.
This isn’t the first time an American President has attempted a ban.
Former US President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban TikTok across the US but was blocked by the courts.
India banned the app in 2020 following a conflict between Indian and Chinese troops, saying that it was to protect national security.
Pakistan has banned the app on four temporary occasions since October 2020, believing that the app promoted “Immoral content.”
Has China banned the app?
TikTok is not accessible in China without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
However, China has its own version of the app named DouYin, which is hugely popular.
DouYin also belongs to the parent company ByteDance, which has been careful to distance itself from the Chinese government.
But the company was rocked by leaked reports published in the Guardian in 2019 that revealed that Beijing was instructing the app’s moderators to remove videos mentioning Tiananmen Square or Tibetan Independence.
ByteDance, set up by Chinese tech mogul Zhang Yiming, posted a huge £3 billion profit in 2019.