Tik Tok Banned By Belgium Government

Belgium is banning TikTok from government phones over worries about cybersecurity, privacy and misinformation, the country’s prime minister said Friday, mirroring recent action by other authorities in Europe and the U. S.

The Chinese-owned video sharing app will be temporarily prohibited from devices owned or paid for by the Belgium’s federal government for at least six months, according to a post on Alexander de Croos website.

TikTok said it is disappointed at this suspension, which is based on basic misinformation about our company.

But the European Unions three main institutions and Denmark’s defence ministry have already ordered employees to remove the app from devices used for official business. Similar bans have been imposed in Canada and the U.S.

De Croo said Belgium’s ban was based on warnings from the state security service and its cybersecurity center, which said the app could harvest user data and tweak algorithms to manipulate its news feed and content.

They also warned that TikTok could be compelled to carry out spying for Beijing, he said, without being more specific. We are in a new geopolitical context where influence and surveillance between states have shifted to the digital world, de Croo said in an online statement.