• Mon. Mar 20th, 2023

New Zealand lawmakers banned from TikTok amid data use fears

ByEditor

Mar 17, 2023

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand lawmakers and other workers inside the nation’s Parliament will be banned from possessing the TikTok app on their government phones, officials talked about Friday.

The ban, which calls for influence at the finish of the month, follows associated moves in a lot of other nations.

Even so, New Zealand’s ban will apply only to about 500 people in the parliamentary complex, not to all government workers like bans in the U.S. and Britain. Other New Zealand agencies could select later to impose their private bans.

International concern about the app comes quickly right after warnings by the FBI and other agencies that TikTok’s Chinese parent corporation ByteDance could share TikTok user data — such as browsing history, spot and biometric identifiers — with China’s authoritarian government.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins talked about he didn’t have TikTok on his phone.

“I’m not that hip and trendy,” he told reporters.

The New Zealand move came on the help of government cybersecurity specialists, talked about Parliamentary Service Chief Executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero.

He talked about the app would be removed from all devices with access to the parliamentary network, although officials could make unique arrangements for anybody who essential TikTok to execute their democratic duties.

“This selection has been made mainly primarily based on our private experts’ evaluation and following discussion with our colleagues across government and internationally,” Gonzalez-Montero talked about in a statement. “Based on this information, the service has determined that the dangers are not acceptable in the present New Zealand parliamentary atmosphere.”

Hipkins talked about cybersecurity help came from New Zealand’s intelligence agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau. He talked about New Zealand didn’t take a blanket tactic to all government workers, and it would be up to each and every division or agency to make cybersecurity options.

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