Many countries have banned the use of TikTok.

TikTok, a social media platform, is being boycotted in many countries. (Image: VULTURE)

To date, 25 ministries and government agencies in the country have issued bans on the use of TikTok on all devices used for work. Among them, 11 ministries and agencies have completely banned the TikTok app, including the Ministry of Finance , the Ministry of Education, the National Disability Insurance Agency, and the Australian Electoral Commission.

Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the ban was announced following recommendations from intelligence and security agencies. He stressed that the ban would go into effect “as soon as possible.” He also added that exemptions would be considered on a case-by-case basis and appropriate security measures would be in place.

Australia became the next country to issue a ban, following similar measures announced by the UK, the US, Canada, and several European Union (EU) countries. Meanwhile, the New Zealand parliament (a member of the intelligence alliance) also ordered the removal of the app from all devices with access to the legislature.

Daniel Guspan, head of the Slovak Parliament's office, stated that the office's staff are now banned from using the TikTok app, and a similar ban is being proposed for MPs and their assistants. Simultaneously, the Slovak Parliament has also banned the installation and use of applications deemed a security threat on parliamentary devices, as well as blocking network communication of such applications within the Parliament's computer network and information systems. The Slovak Parliament's decision is based on statements from international security agencies, which identified TikTok as a significant cybersecurity risk, as it can collect an unbalanced amount of information from devices where the app is installed.

Immediately after the Belgian National Security Council (CNS) issued a warning about the risks associated with the large amount of user data that TikTok collects, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also announced that Belgian federal government employees would not be allowed to install the TikTok video -sharing app on their official phones. While the ban does not apply to personal, privately purchased devices of federal government employees, the Prime Minister advised them against installing TikTok on these devices as well. The ban will be temporary, lasting for six months, and applies to all devices that use part or all of the federal government's funding, as well as those registered on the federal government system.

The Belgian National Security Council has urged regional, provincial, and local authorities to impose similar bans on TikTok, while also calling on the private sector to be wary of the risks associated with using the app. Additionally, the Belgian National Security Council is requesting that the Data Protection Authority (DPA) investigate TikTok's privacy policy.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic and Ireland are investigating TikTok's data security practices.

The reason many governments have issued these bans is due to concerns about users' privacy and data security, as well as the risk of spreading harmful content that could even threaten national security.

THAI ANH

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