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EU bans its diplomats from using TikTok, too
The move comes a day after European Commission and Council cracked down on use of Chinese-owned app.
The move comes a day after European Commission and Council cracked down on use of Chinese-owned app.
The European Union's diplomatic service is banning its staff from using the Chinese-owned social media application TikTok on work phones and private phones with work-related apps installed, it said Friday.
The External Action Service (EEAS) "is aligning its policy to the decision by the Commission for reasons related to cybersecurity. All EEAS staff and the EU delegations are being informed to take the appropriate steps in due time," a spokeswoman for the service said.
The European Commission and EU Council on Thursday told staff to stop using the app on official devices and delete it from personal phones that have work-related apps. The restrictions will officially kick in on March 15.
The EU institutions are the latest government services in Europe to block the app, which is facing a whirlwind of security and privacy concerns across the West because of its Chinese ownership (TikTok is owned by Beijing-headquartered internet company ByteDance), its algorithms and revelations that it has tracked specific journalists on its platform.
The EEAS runs the bloc's foreign policy and oversees EU delegations and representative offices across the world.
