European Commission bans TikTok on smartphones and official devices

According to the source, Commission officials were ordered to delete the application from official service devices by March 15 at the latest, which confirms information released by the Euractiv website.

The measure was adopted to protect the European Commission's data and reinforce its cybersecurity.

A spokesman for the TikTok reacted immediately, expressing his “disappointment” with the Commission’s approval.

“We are disappointed by this decision which we believe is misguided and based on fundamental misunderstandings,” the spokesperson said.

“We have contacted the Commission to set the record straight and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU who visit TikTok every month,” he added.

The European Commissioner for Industry, Thierry Breton, said, in turn, that the Commission considered cybersecurity and the protection of data of people “who work” at the institution.

TikTok's parent company, the Chinese ByteDance, is the subject of strict surveillance in Western countries, amid suspicions that Chinese authorities have access to user data.

In 2022, the United States banned the app on federal government devices, and some US congressmen are trying to ban TikTok from operating across the country.

In November, the TikTok admitted that some employees in China could have access to European users' data. The company states, however, that it is acting to adapt to the strict operating standards imposed on digital giants in the EU space.

In his reaction to the Commission's decision, the company's spokesperson assured that TikTok is committed to “minimizing [its users'] data flows outside of Europe”.

“We continue to improve our approach to data security, including establishing three data centers in Europe to store user data locally, and further reducing employee access to that data,” he stressed.

(With AFP)

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