12 countries that have banned TikTok fearing threats to national security
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As worries over the privacy and security of American users on the TikTok app mount, France, the Netherlands, and Norway have joined a growing number of nations that have issued orders prohibiting the use of TikTok on devices provided by the government.
Moreover, many nations continue to be wary about the platform and its connections to China. In this article, we will look at the 12 countries that have banned TikTok because of national security concerns.
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1. Afghanistan
In 2022, the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan outlawed TikTok and the video game PUBG, citing the need to prevent children from being deceived.
2. Belgium
TikTok has been temporarily blocked in Belgium on federally funded or owned devices because of concerns regarding cybersecurity, privacy, and false information. The state security service and its cybersecurity center issued warnings, according to Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, which led to the six-month ban.
3. Canada
TikTok is not permitted on government-issued smartphones, according to Canada, which said that doing so poses an "unacceptable" danger to users' security and privacy. The application cannot be downloaded by employees in the future too.
4. Denmark
The Danish Defense Ministry ordered employees to uninstall TikTok from their work phones as quickly as possible and prohibited employees from doing so in the first place.
5. European Union
TikTok has been forbidden on staff devices by all three of the 27-member bloc's principal institutions: the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the EU Council.
6. India
TikTok and hundreds of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, faced a nationwide banned in India in 2020 due to privacy and security concerns.
7. New Zealand
The TikTok app will not be allowed on 'work phones' used by New Zealand lawmakers or employees of the country's Parliament, per the recommendation of cybersecurity experts.
8. Norway
After a warning from the nation's Justice Ministry that the app shouldn't be loaded on phones provided to government employees, the Norwegian parliament outlawed TikTok on work devices.
9. Pakistan
TikTok has been temporarily outlawed by Pakistani authorities four times since October 2020 as a result of concerns that the app promotes the viewing of immoral content.
10. Taiwan
Taiwan banned TikTok from the public sector in December 2022 after the FBI warned that the app posed a threat to national security.
11. United Kingdom
TikTok was immediately prohibited from government ministers' and civil officials' cell phones by British authorities in the middle of March.
12. United States
Because of worries about data security, the US gave government agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all federal devices and networks at the beginning of March.
