New Zealand to ban TikTok on devices linked to parliament

SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) – New Zealand will ban TikTok on devices with access to the parliamentary network for the reason that of cybersecurity issues, a government official mentioned on Friday.

TikTok will be banned on all devices with access to New Zealand’s parliamentary network by the finish of March, mentioned Parliamentary Service Chief Executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero.

TikTok has come beneath rising scrutiny due to fears that user information from the app owned by Beijing-primarily based organization ByteDance could finish up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western safety interests.

Britain on Thursday banned the app on government phones with quick impact. Government agencies in the U.S. have till the finish of March to delete the app from official devices.

Gonzalez-Montero, in an e mail to Reuters, mentioned the choice was taken immediately after guidance from cybersecurity professionals and discussions inside government and with other nations.

“Primarily based on this info the Service has determined that the dangers are not acceptable in the present New Zealand Parliamentary atmosphere,” he mentioned.

Particular arrangements can be created for these who call for the app to do their jobs, he added.

Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Renju Jose Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.