Defence Redefined

Published on 03/04/2023 at 12:15

NATO has officially banned its employees from downloading the social media TikTok application on their NATO-provided devices, citing security concerns.

NATO officials sent a memo to its personnel on Friday morning announcing the ban. On that note, Tik Tok was officially banned, which was nonetheless not used on the NATO-sponsored devices anyway, due to internal technological limitations.

Cyber ​​security is a top priority for NATO. NATO has strong requirements for specifying applications for official operational use. TikTok is not accessible on NATO devices, a senior NATO official told CNN.

NATO is the latest government body to ban the app over concerns that the Chinese government could access TikTok user data through its Chinese parent company, Bytedance.

The US, the UK, Norway, European Parliament, and other nations have already banned the app from government devices.

TikTok CEO, Shou Chew, stressed to US lawmakers earlier this month that the company is completely independent from Beijing, adding that there is no evidence that the Chinese government has access to such data.

TikTok should be shut down one way or another, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, told Congress earlier this month in a separate hearing on the same day Chew testified.

Also read: DIANA | NATO sharpens technological edge with innovation initiatives – Greece’s participation