Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has banned the use of TikTok in the state’s executive branch of government. Photo: AP
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https://scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3202521/taiwan-joins-us-states-restricting-tiktok-chinas-hit-video-app-faces-renewed-scrutiny Big Tech
Taiwan joins US states in restricting TikTok as China’s hit video app faces renewed scrutiny
- TikTok, its Chinese version Douyin and lifestyle and social platform Xiaohongshu have been banned from government use in Taiwan
- The Biden administration has been trying to come up with a security deal to allow TikTok to continue in the country, where it has 85 million users
The TikTok logo is seen on a smartphone screen in this file photo taken on October 5, 2021. Photo: AFP
Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China regards as a renegade province, has taken action to restrict the use of TikTok and other Chinese apps in tandem with similar moves by some state authorities in the US.
TikTok, its Chinese version Douyin, and lifestyle and social platform Xiaohongshu have been prohibited from being installed and used on public devices or in government offices, according to Taiwan media outlets Central News Agency and Liberty Times, both citing an unnamed official from the local Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA).
The official was quoted as saying the three apps were “harmful products against national information security”.
On the question of whether the ban would be extended to personal smartphones, the official said MODA and relevant authorities would refer to “similar practices by other countries” before making a decision.
The official added that the ban had been imposed on all mainland China-made software since the release of the amended Principles on Limiting Harmful Products Against National Information Security Used by Government Agencies in October.
MODA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beijing-based ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, and Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu, did not immediately reply to a similar request.
TikTok is banned in India and has faced scrutiny from US politicians for its Chinese links. Several US states have taken similar steps to Taiwan, with the latest coming from Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. On Wednesday, they separately announced that TikTok was banned from state-issued mobile phones and computers over cybersecurity concerns and the app’s links to China.
US Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr, a long-time critic of TikTok, supported the bans, citing Taiwan’s “smart and strong leadership”. Carr visited Taiwan in November, including meetings with the MODA, and later tweeted that “Taiwan is strengthening its own cybersecurity defences”.
TikTok, which has more than 85 million users in the US, is facing a renewed backlash amid efforts by the Biden administration to come up with a security deal to allow the app to continue its operations in the country. However, these efforts are running into delays amid growing concerns over national security, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Republican governors in South Dakota and South Carolina have also prohibited state-issued devices from using TikTok. The use of the app on federal-owned devices is already prohibited by several authorities in the US, including the Department of State, Department of Defence and Department of Homeland Security.
In October, the app was mired in another controversy after Forbes reported that a China-based team at ByteDance planned to collect TikTok data to monitor the physical location of at least two US citizens.
In response, TikTok issued a statement saying it does not collect precise GPS location information from US users, meaning it “could not monitor US users in the way the article suggested”. It added that TikTok had never been used to “target” any “members of the US government, activists, public figures or journalists”.