BRUSSELS: The European Commission on Thursday banned its staff from installing TikTok on devices used for work amid concerns over data protection, in a move that provoked an angry response from the company.

TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data.

The ban means European Commission staff cannot use the video-sharing app on work devices and personal devices, such as phones, that have official EU email and communication apps installed. Employees must remove the app as soon as possible and should do so by March 15.

EU spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova said the corporate management board of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, had made the decision for security reasons.

“The measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks against the corporate environment of the commission,” she said. A spokesperson for TikTok said “we believe this suspension is misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions”.

After the news was made public, EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton pointed to the cybersecurity risks he said had informed the decision.

“As an institution, the European Commission has, from the beginning of the mandate, a very strong focus on cybersecurity, protecting our colleagues and, of course, everyone who is working here in the Commission,” Breton told reporters.

In November, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users. The company however denies that the Chinese government has any control or access.

TikTok on Thursday stressed it protects the data of 125 million users monthly in the European Union on its app and was taking steps to strengthen data security.

It later said it had requested a meeting with the Commission “to set the record straight”.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2023