London, March 15: TikTok will be banned from UK government phones amid security concerns around the Chinese-owned social media video app, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden announced in Parliament on Thursday.

The ban brings the UK in line with the US, Canada and the European Union (EU) and also India – which banned TikTok entirely from the country, even as the company strongly denies sharing user data with the Chinese government. TikTok Ban: US Mulls Bill To Impose Nationwide Ban on Chinese Short-Video Making App Over Security Concerns.

Dowden told MPs that there "could be” a risk to how government data and information is used by the app. “The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices,” said Dowden. TikTok Ban: US House Democrat Opposes Giving Power to President Joe Biden To Block Chinese Video Sharing App.

“The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review. Restricting the use of TikTok on government devices is a prudent and proportionate step following advice from our cyber security experts,” he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)