Which countries have banned TikTok like New Zealand has banned it on government phones?

With the prospect of a total ban on TikTok in the UK, New Zealand is the latest to ban the video-sharing app on government phones.

The popular app is under intense scrutiny for its ties to China, with the US – home to 100 million Tiktok users – now demanding that the Chinese owners sell their shares or face an outright ban.

China and TikTok insist there are no security risks. However, some other countries fear that TikTok users’ data could be leaked to the country or used to promote pro-Beijing views.

One billion people worldwide use the app.

President Biden’s threat follows an attempt by Donald Trump to ban the app in 2020, when the move was blocked by US courts.

So which countries took action to ban TikTok and who exactly got banned?

Here’s what you need to know.

Which countries have banned Tiktok?

New Zealand

New Zealand MPs were told today (Friday 17 March) that Tiktok will be banned from all parliamentary devices because “the risks in New Zealand’s current parliamentary environment are unacceptable”.

An email told MPs: “The decision to block the TikTok application has been made based on our own analysis and after consultation with our colleagues within the government and internationally.”

Some MPs regularly post on TikTok, including Act Party leader David Seymour, and they will continue to be able to do so on private phones as well.

USA

US politicians in the House of Representatives were ordered to remove TikTok from their work phones and banned from downloading it last December.

More than half of US states have also enacted bans on the use of TikTok on government devices, and Democrats and Republicans alike have joined forces to draft legislation that would give the White House the power to use it statewide. prohibit.

United Kingdom

Yesterday (Thursday, March 16), the UK government banned TikTok on all government devices with immediate effect.

All employees were instructed to text “immediately”.

Fears followed that there could be a risk in how sensitive government data is accessed and used by certain platforms.

Cabinet Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “As many colleagues will know, social media apps collect and store vast amounts of user data.”

TikTok said it was “disappointed” with the move, which was “based on fundamental misunderstandings and motivated by broader geopolitics.”

EU

The EU announced a ban on TikTok on its employees’ work phones last month.

Within the European Parliament, this will take effect on Monday (March 20) and employees are advised to completely remove the app from their work devices.

Certain countries within the EU, including the Netherlands and Belgium, have issued similar bans for personnel.

Afghanistan

Afghan Taliban leaders banned the app last year for “misleading the younger generation.”

India

India imposed a temporary ban all in the country on Tiktok in 2020 – and this was made final in January 2021.

The Indian government also banned a number of other Chinese apps, including messaging service WeChat, for privacy and security reasons.

Taiwan

Public sector employees in Taiwan are banned from using TikTok and other Chinese software.

Canada

Anyone who works for state and local government agencies in Canada is prohibited from using TikTok on official devices. The country acted quickly to implement this after the US did.

Some countries have previously implemented a temporary ban on TikTok, including Pakistan, Jordan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.