The European Commission on Thursday February 22, banned TikTok on official devices amid eavesdropping fears but the Chinese social media behemoth slammed the measure as ‘misguided’.
TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has come under increased attention in the West because to concerns about Beijing’s access to user data.
The new prohibition also prohibits European Commission employees from using the video-sharing app on personal devices, including phones with official EU communication apps, as the EU attempts to strengthen its cybersecurity.
Workers must uninstall the app as quickly as possible and before March 15.
EU spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova said the corporate management board of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, had made the decision for security reasons.
‘The measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks against the corporate environment of the commission,’ she said.
There was no immediate word on whether other EU organizations, such as the European Council, which represents member states, or the European Parliament, will follow suit.
Following the announcement, EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton emphasized the cybersecurity threats that motivated the decision.
‘As an institution, the European Commission has, from the beginning of the mandate, a very strong focus on cybersecurity, protecting our colleagues and, of course, everyone who is working here in the Commission,’ Breton told reporters.
TikTok was ‘disappointed with this decision, which we believe is wrong and based on fundamental misconceptions,’ according to a spokeswoman.
TikTok revealed in November that some personnel in China have access to European customers’ data.
Nonetheless, the corporation denies that the Chinese government has any control or access.
TikTok said on Thursday that its app safeguards the data of 125 million users in the European Union each month and that it is working to improve data security.