UK Parliament knew deleted TikTok account could be ‘controversial’ due to app’s China links, internal documents show

An internal document, reveals Parliament anticipated TikTok’s links to China could result in a hostile reaction

A spokesperson said ‘The TikTok platform does not operate in China and we have never provided user data to the Chinese government’

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The British Parliament knew its now-deleted TikTok account could be ‘controversial’ because of the app’s links to China, internal documents show

Published: 6:45pm, 7 Sep 2022

Britain’s Parliament anticipated its use of TikTok could be “controversial” because of the app’s links to China and prepared a plan to defend itself against any blowback, internal documents have revealed.

The legislative body abandoned a pilot project using the video app after only a few days, following a letter from a group of lawmakers saying TikTok had been “unable to reassure MPs that the company could prevent data transfer to ByteDance, should the parent company make a request for it.”

An internal document, obtained by Insider under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act, reveals Parliament anticipated TikTok’s links to China could result in a hostile reaction.

The document specifically suggested asking the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD), whether the app was safe for parliamentary staffers’ phones. “Once confirmed, this should be part of any media line,” the document said.

But when Insider asked whether the PSD had concluded it was safe, Parliament declined to answer, saying: “We cannot go into any further detail about security measures taken.”