Wellington (AP) – New Zealand is following other Western countries and cracking down on the video app Tiktok, which is owned by a Chinese company, for security reasons.
According to media reports, the app will be blocked on all mobile phones and other devices with access to the parliament’s network, including MPs’ phones, by March 31. This was reported by Radio New Zealand and other media. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said, according to Radio New Zealand, that he had not yet been informed of the Parliamentary Administration’s decision. He himself does not use Tiktok.
The company’s Bytedance app has already been banned from government cell phones or MPs’ devices in Canada, Australia, the UK and the US for security reasons. “Global tensions are rising following the Chinese spy balloon incident earlier this year,” said CyberCX, New Zealand’s top cybersecurity firm, calling the TikTok ban necessary. “There are legitimate concerns around the world about the Chinese government’s access to and use of TikTok data,” the company said in a statement.
