Where is TikTok banned? Countries restrict app over China ties, privacy - The Wa...
source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/13/tiktok-ban-countries-restrictions/
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The U.S. could ban TikTok. These countries have blocked or restricted it.
The House of Representatives passed a measure on Wednesday that could lead to the forced sale of TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance — or to a nationwide ban in the United States. TikTok says it has 170 million users in the country.
While the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, the move represents growing fears about whether China may be able to access Americans’ personal data or otherwise influence them. The company has denied claims of government influence, stressed that it does not share data of U.S. users with the Chinese authorities and pointed to its funding from international investors.
The federal government already bans TikTok on government-owned devices. Other countries around the world have also taken steps to ban or restrict the popular app — even as TikTok bans have faced criticism including from free-speech advocates, content creators and Beijing. Here’s what to know.
India
TikTok was banned in India in 2020 over security concerns after a deadly clash with neighboring China. The ban was made permanent in January 2021.
Tensions spiked between the two countries in June 2020 after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a border clash with Chinese troops in the Himalayas. India announced a ban on more than 50 Chinese apps, including TikTok and the messaging app WeChat.
Forbes has reported that TikTok had some 150 million monthly active users there, its biggest overseas market at the time.
Nepal
Nepal announced a ban on TikTok late last year. The country’s minister of communications and information technology said the app had “been consistently used to share content that disturbs social harmony.” The move came after Nepal’s cabinet had outlined guidelines attempting to regulate social media platforms.
European Union
Top E.U. policymaking institutions — the European Parliament, European Commission and European Council — banned TikTok from staff phones last year. The measure would help protect “against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks,” the European Commission said in its announcement.
Government staff in some of the bloc’s 27 member states, including Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, have also been told not to use TikTok on their work phones.
Canada
Canada banned TikTok from all government-issued phones in February 2023, after similar steps in the United States and the European Union.
The Canadian government said its decision stemmed from a review of the app, which “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the ban at the time as a possible “first step” but also said “it may be the only step” the government would need to take.
Britain
Britain announced a TikTok ban on government ministers’ and civil servants’ devices last year, with officials citing the security of state information. The British Parliament soon followed with a TikTok ban on associated devices and electronics connected to its network. British Prime Minister said ahead of the decision that the country would “look also at what our allies are doing” as it assessed use of the app on government devices.
Australia
Australia banned TikTok from all federal government-owned devices last year after seeking advice from intelligence and security agencies. The directive in April said officials had determined that “the installation of the TikTok application on government devices poses a significant protective security risk.”
Taiwan
Taiwan banned TikTok on government devices in 2022. Taiwanese media reported that officials cited national cybersecurity in imposing the public-sector ban and that authorities considered a nationwide ban amid rising tensions with Beijing, but did not draw concrete conclusions.
New Zealand
In March 2023, lawmakers agreed to ban TikTok on mobile devices with access to New Zealand’s parliamentary network. Officials cited cybersecurity concerns and said some exceptions would be made for those who need to access TikTok for work purposes.
New Zealand’s government said decisions were based on its own expert analysis and after discussions with colleagues at home and abroad.
Pakistan
In recent years, authorities in Pakistan have temporarily banned TikTok multiple times before reversing their decision. In one instance dating back to 2021, a court blocked the app after receiving complaints over “immoral and indecent content,” the Associated Press reported, noting that the block was lifted less than a month later.
More recently, TikTok played a key role in the country’s shock election result, with Imran Khan’s party using the app to reach millions of illiterate voters who don’t use Facebook and other text-heavy platforms, The Washington Post reported.
Afghanistan
In 2022, the Taliban announced a ban on TikTok to “prevent the younger generation from being misled,” according to the BBC. The ban came into effect, but users have found ways around the restrictions through the use of VPNs, according to a report from Wired.
Indonesia
Indonesia temporarily banned TikTok in 2018, citing concerns including “pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy.” The ban was lifted less than a week later after the app agreed to censor some of its content.
Somalia
In August2023, Somalia’s communications minister said the country was planning to restrict access to TikTok, Telegram and online gambling website 1xBet over concerns about the spread of “explicit content” and “a detrimental impact on our youth.”
The minister ordered internet companies to shut down the platforms, which he said were being used by “terrorists and immoral groups to spread constant horrific images and misinformation to the public,” Reuters reported.
Niha Masih and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report.
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