(MENAFN) Britain's parliament has announced that it will block TikTok on all devices on its network following a similar ban on government devices, becoming the latest Western institution to bar the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. A parliament spokesperson said that "following the government's decision to ban TikTok from government devices, the commissions of both the House of Commons and Lords have decided that TikTok will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network."
The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app from official devices, citing concerns that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.
TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny worldwide, with the British parliament's ban announced as the app's chief executive faced questions from US lawmakers who are convinced the app should be barred for being a potential national security threat to the United States. The app's popularity has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, but concerns about data privacy and security have led to calls for greater regulation and oversight.
The British parliament's ban on TikTok highlights the ongoing debate about the balance between free expression and national security concerns. While some argue that the app represents a threat to Western security interests, others point out that banning the app could be seen as a form of censorship and limit freedom of expression. As TikTok continues to face scrutiny around the world, it remains to be seen how governments and institutions will balance these competing concerns.
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