Britain’s parliament will block TikTok on all devices on its network, making it the latest Western institution to prohibit the Chinese-owned video app due to security concerns.
A TikTok spokesperson described the action as “misguided,” claiming that it was based on fundamental misunderstandings about the company.
“Following the government’s decision to ban TikTok from government devices, the commissions of both the House of Commons and Lords have decided that TikTok will be blocked from all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network,” a parliament spokesperson said.
The Chinese-owned video app was banned from government phones in the United Kingdom last week.
The app has already been banned from official devices in the United States, Canada, Belgium, and the European Commission.
“We are disappointed that, despite our requests, we have not been offered any opportunity to address concerns and only ask to be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors,” the TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.
The company has also begun implementing a plan to further protect its European user data, which includes storing UK user data in European data centres and tightening data access controls, according to the spokesperson.
TikTok has come under increased scrutiny due to concerns that user data from the app, which is owned by the Beijing company ByteDance, could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, jeopardizing Western security interests.
The ban was announced by the British parliament as TikTok’s CEO faced questions from US lawmakers who believe the app should be banned because it poses a potential national security threat to the US.
