NATO is the latest governmental organization to ban its staffers from using TikTok on official devices, CNN first reported Friday.
Officials reportedly sent a memo Friday morning announcing that the app was banned from NATO-issued devices. The note from leadership reportedly cited security concerns as the reason for the ban.
NATO has officially banned staffers from downloading the social media app TikTok onto their NATO-provided devices, citing security concerns, according to two NATO officials familiar with the matter https://t.co/m1YlhQqUSD
— CNN International (@cnni) March 31, 2023
“Cyber security is a top priority for NATO. NATO has robust requirements for determining applications for official business use,” a NATO official told the Daily Caller. “TikTok is not accessible on NATO devices.”
The U.S. government, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament have already banned TikTok on official devices due to the app’s security vulnerabilities and links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a CCP-owned technology firm that develops popular mobile apps. Critics of TikTok have shown that the CCP could access data gathered on the app as part of information-sharing requirements the CCP imposes on Chinese firms. (RELATED: ‘Libs Of TikTok’ Bumps Into Ocasio-Cortez Minutes After Filing Ethics Complaint Against Her)
Lawmakers in the United States are debating a broader TikTok ban that would potentially outlaw the application on all devices in the United States, not just those used by government employees. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress last week, giving testimony that was widely regarded as ineffective at deflecting lawmakers’ concerns.