TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said the Government is seeking advice from cyber experts on the Chinese-owned video app TikTok after the UK announced a ban on the app on government devices. 

The move followed similar action by the European Union, the United States and Canada in recent months.

Western powers have been taking an increasingly tough approach to the app, citing fears that user data could be used or abused by Chinese officials.

Asked by The Journal whether the Government was considering a similar move, Varadkar, speaking in Washington, said: “We have requested advice from the National Center for Cybersecurity on TikTok.

“As things stand, we’re not advising anybody in the public sector or in government to remove TikTok from their work phones, but that is still under review,” he said.

UK Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told parliament today that the British government would move to ban TikTok on government devices “with immediate effect”. 

TikTok has said it is “disappointed” with the UK Government’s decision.

“We believe these bans have been based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics, in which TikTok, and our millions of users in the UK, play no part,” a spokesperson said.

“We remain committed to working with the (UK) Government to address any concerns but should be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors.

“We have begun implementing a comprehensive plan to further protect our European user data, which includes storing UK user data in our European data centres and tightening data access controls, including third-party independent oversight of our approach.”

Fine Gael’s Colm Markey has written to both the Taoiseach and the Ceann Comhairle urging them to ban TikTok from government-issued phones. 

“Ireland is behind the curve on this issue,” Markey said. 

“The European Parliament, European Commission, the USA, Canada, Belgium, and now the UK are banning TikTok from official devices due to cybersecurity concerns,” Markey said. 

“I called for a similar ban in Ireland last week and have since written to the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl and the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urging them to take action,” he said. 

Markey said TikTok has been in communication with him, adding: “I recognise their efforts to be more transparent, however, we still don’t have a clear guarantee that private data is not being sent to China.” 

US ultimatum 

Earlier, TikTok confirmed that US officials recommended that the app part ways with its Chinese parent ByteDance to avoid a national ban.

Earlier, a TikTok spokesperson told AFP: “If protecting national security is the objective, calls for a ban or divestment are unnecessary, as neither option solves the broader industry issues of data access and transfer.

“We remain confident that the best path forward to addressing concerns about national security is transparent, US-based protection of US user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification.”

The Wall Street Journal and other US news outlets yesterday reported that the White House set an ultimatum: if TikTok remains a part of ByteDance, it will be banned in the United States.

“This is all a game of high stakes poker,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.

Washington is “clearly … putting more pressure on ByteDance to strategically sell this key asset in a major move that could have significant ripple impacts,” he continued.

The White House last week welcomed a bill introduced in the US Senate that would allow President Joe Biden to ban TikTok.

The bipartisan bill “would empower the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services… in a way that poses risks to Americans’ sensitive data and our national security,” Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement.

The bill’s introduction and its quick White House backing accelerated the political momentum against TikTok, which is also the target of a separate piece of legislation in the US House of Representatives.

Appearing tough on China is one of the rare issues with potential for bipartisan support in both the Republican-run House and the Senate, where Biden’s Democratic Party holds the majority.

Concern ramped up among American officials earlier this year after a Chinese balloon, which Washington alleged was on a spy mission, flew over US airspace.

TikTok use rocketing

TikTok claims it has more than a billion users worldwide including over 100 million in the United States, where it has become a cultural force, especially among young people.

Activists argue a ban would be an attack on free speech, and stifle the export of American culture and values to TikTok users around the world.

US government workers in January were banned from installing TikTok on their government-issued devices.

Civil servants in the European Union and Canada are also barred from downloading the app on their work devices.

According to the Journal report, the ultimatum to TikTok came from the US interagency board charged with assessing risks foreign investments represent to national security.

US officials declined to comment on the report.

TikTok has consistently denied sharing data with Chinese officials, and says it has been working with the US authorities for more than two years to address national security concerns.

Time spent by users on TikTok has surpassed that spent on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and is closing in on streaming television titan Netflix, according to market tracker Insider Intelligence.

With reporting by Press Association and - © AFP 2023