New Zealand has become the latest country to ban Chinese social media app TikTok in parliament over security concerns.

The country’s MPs were informed via email that the app would be blocked from all parliamentary devices by the end of the month, the Guardian newspaper reports.

The email said that the potential security risks posed by TikTok are “not acceptable” in the current environment.

“The decision to block the TikTok application has been made based on our own analysis and following discussion with our colleagues across government and internationally,” the email said.

Earlier this week, the UK government banned TikTok from work devices, citing the need to keep sensitive government information secure.

The ByteDance-owned company recently announced new security measures due to fears over how user data is shared with China. These include storing data locally and using an external security firm to monitor data flows.

Several other organisations have recently banned the use of TikTok on work devices or warned of potential security problems in the app, including Denmark’s public-service broadcaster DR and the Czech cyber security watchdog NUKIB which said it had concerns over amount of data that is collected by the app.

The Canadian Government has also banned TikTok on government devices, while the EU Commission has similarly banned TikTok from both corporate and personal devices over cybersecurity concerns.

Share Story: