OUR british parliament it will block the app tik tak on all parliamentary devices and the wider web, citing the need to protect cybersecurity, a House spokesman said today.

Recall that last week The UK has banned the Chinese app on all government mobile phones.

“Following the government’s decision to ban TikTok on government devices, committees in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords decided to block it on all parliamentary devices and the wider Parliament network. Cybersecurity is a top priority for Parliament,” the spokesman said.

“We don’t believe you”

Meanwhile on Washington his hearing began Su Chiu, CEO of TikTok, to Congress. US lawmakers accuse TikTok, a subsidiary of Chinese company ByteDance, of endangering national security and the health of users. The app, which is believed to give Chinese authorities access to its users’ data, is under threat of an outright ban in the US.

“ByteDance is owned by the Chinese Communist Party, and ByteDance and TikTok are one and the same,” Cathy McMorris, chairwoman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, said at the start of the meeting.

“I imagine that today you will say everything you can to avoid this outcome” (i.e., the ban), she continued, turning to Chiu. “We don’t believe you,” he said. “We don’t believe TikTok will ever adopt American principles, principles of freedom, human rights and innovation,” he continued, arguing that the CCP “could use the app as a tool to manipulate America as a whole.”

“The Chinese government does not own or control ByteDance. It is a private company,” Su Chiu replied in his first statement. “We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government,” he continued, promising the “Commission and all users” that no government would be allowed to manipulate TikTok.

Political pressure on the popular platform has intensified in recent months on both sides of the Atlantic. OUR White House, the European Commission, the governments of Canada and the UK have banned their employees from using it. On Tuesday, the BBC advised its staff to remove the app from their company mobile phones. Several bills are being drafted in the US to ban TikTok, which is used by 150 million Americans every month (and 1 billion globally).

The White House has hinted that if TikTok remains under ByteDance’s control, it will be banned.

TikTok is still hoping to appease the authorities. The company has already spent approx. $1.5 billion for the “Texas Plan” to store US user data in the US on Texas-based Oracle’s servers.

“Earlier this month, we began deleting all US data stored on non-Oracle servers,” recalls Sue Chu.

The Singapore-born and Harvard-educated head of TikTok is expected to be held accountable for the app’s responsibility for the mental and physical health of children and teens.

TikTok and many organizations consider a complete ban on the platform, as was done in India in 2020, to be censorship.

“Why such hysteria around TikTok”? Democratic Rep. Jamal Bowman asked on Wednesday. The app poses the same risk in terms of data privacy, user addiction or misinformation as other apps or platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, he commented, calling for “fair discussion across all social media platforms.”

Source: APE-MPE-AFP-Reuters