London City Council staff will no longer have TikTok on their devices in the latest ban placed on the Chinese-owned social media app for security reasons.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) said the rule was put in place because it takes information security “extremely seriously.”
It comes after the UK government banned ministers from using the video-sharing app on their work phones after a security review.
The House of Commons and Lords also cited security concerns when they decided to ban the app throughout the Palace of Westminster.
A parliament spokesperson said: “Following the government’s decision to ban TikTok on government devices, committees in both the House of Commons and Lords have decided that TikTok will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the parliamentary network in general”.
The Scottish government is imposing a ban on official devices due to concerns “about the potential tracking and privacy risks of certain social media apps.”
A GLA spokesman said: “The GLA takes information security very seriously. According to the government decision, TikTok will no longer be available on GLA devices.”
TikTok, owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, argues that it does not share data with China. However, Beijing’s intelligence legislation requires companies to assist the Communist Party when requested.
When the UK government announced its ban last week, citing a risk to “sensitive” data, Beijing reacted angrily.
The Chinese embassy in the UK described it as a move “based on its political motive rather than fact” and said it will “ultimately harm the UK’s own interests”.
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A TikTok spokesperson said: “As we have said, we believe these bans are based on fundamental misconceptions and are driven by broader geopolitics.
“We are available to meet with the mayor to address any concerns, but we must be judged on the facts and treated the same as our competitors.
“We have begun to implement a comprehensive plan to further protect our European user data, including storing UK user data in our European data centers and tightening data access controls, including monitoring independent of our approach by third parties.”
