New Zealand to ban TikTok from MPs' devices

New Zealand will ban the Chinese social network TikTok from the devices of members of parliament, officials told AFP on Friday, following the country's line with other Western countries that have taken similar measures

New Zealand to ban TikTok from MPs' devices

New Zealand will ban the Chinese social network TikTok from the devices of members of parliament, officials told AFP on Friday, following the country's line with other Western countries that have taken similar measures.

The ban will affect all devices with access to the parliamentary network, said Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, a parliamentary official. It will take effect on March 31.

According to Gonzalez-Montero, the risks are "not acceptable in the current parliamentary environment in New Zealand".

"The decision was taken on the basis of the analyzes of our own experts, after a discussion with our colleagues in government and internationally," he added.

New Zealand will therefore follow suit with Canada, the United Kingdom and federal agencies in the United States, which have already banned TikTok from government devices due to data security concerns.

The European Commission has also ordered to ban the video-sharing application from the devices of its employees.

Global action against TikTok started in India in 2020. The social network was on a list of banned apps after deadly clashes on the border with China, with New Delhi claiming to defend its sovereignty.

In the same year, ex-President Donald Trump accused TikTok of being a spying tool for Beijing.

TikTok has admitted that employees of its parent company ByteDance in China have accessed Americans' account information, but has always denied passing this data to the authorities.

Current President of the United States Joe Biden has threatened to completely ban the application from the territory, if it does not separate from ByteDance.

17/03/2023 04:18:53 - Wellington (AFP) © 2023 AFP