Due to cybersecurity worries, TikTok has been restricted across these 15 nations
With more than a billion active users in 141 countries, TikTok is a popular app.
Due to concerns about security and cybersecurity, TikTok, a prominent social media site owned by ByteDance, is currently dealing with one of its toughest hurdles as governments around the
world have clamped down on its operations.
While the majority of states have implemented severe laws and rules to limit app usage due to security concerns, several other nations, including international government agencies like the
European Commission and NATO, have done the same. 15 nations have outlawed TikTok.
Several nations have implemented limitations on the use of TikTok, including:
In 2022, they declared the app to be banned. The platform’s content “was not consistent with Islamic laws,” according to Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samangani , and the restriction was
implemented to “prevent the younger generation from being misled.”
2. The Australian
Due to security concerns, the Australian government banned the app from all federal government-owned devices in 2023.
Australia became the most recent ally of the United States to take action against the video app controlled by China with this decision.
The Department of Home Affairs in the nation voiced security concerns over the restriction, citing rising fears that ByteDance, a Chinese-owned corporation, will give users’ data to China.
However, efforts to outright forbid the use of the app in Australia have been abandoned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
3. Germany
Citing Bytedance’s connection to the Chinese authorities, the Belgian government declared that using TikTok on official work phones and devices is prohibited. The Belgian National Security
Council had alerted Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to the dangers posed by the vast quantities of data that TikTok was collecting.
4. The nation of Canada
A TikTok ban on government-issued gadgets was declared by the Canadian government in 2023. The software offered an “unacceptable” degree of threat to safety and confidentiality, the
the statement claimed, escalating the already escalating dispute between the two nations.
5. Denmark
While the Danish government hasn’t formally stated its stance on the prohibition of TikTok use, many significant government organizations, including the Defense Ministry and Danish
colleges, have stated their opinions and ordered agency employees to impose a ban on the app.
Based on the “the possibility of tracking,” agency employees have been advised to remove the program from their smartphone or tablet.
Because of the possibility of spying, staff members were ordered to remove the software from their handheld devices.
Due to the “risk of spying,” staff members were advised to remove the software from their mobile devices.
6. India
In 2020, the Indian government imposed a nationwide ban on the app along with fifty-eight other Chinese-affiliated apps, including WeChat and Shein. India mentioned a risk to the national
security and user privacy.
Shortly after a fight involving Indians and roughly twenty Indian soldiers died as a result of their confrontation with the Chinese forces along the border.
7. Nepal
In 2023, the Nepali government banned the Chinese-owned app TikTok, which said its materials were harmful to societal cohesion.
The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) ordered each internet service provider in the nation to disable the app after the news was released.
Rekha Sharma, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, claims that harmful content is disseminated via the popular app in the nation, particularly by youth and female
digital media users.
8. The Netherlands
After the Dutch intelligence service AIVD published papers identifying North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran as having aggressive cyber programs, The usage of the app by government
employees is prohibited by the Dutch government.
The government disclosed intentions to configure all mobile devices provided to central government employees so as to guarantee the installation of only pre-approved apps, software, and/or
features in order to impose this restriction on government-owned electronics.
9. The country of New Zealand
In 2023, New Zealand announced that it would follow other European nations and forbid its lawmakers from using TikTok on any staff device.
Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, the executive in charge of parliamentary services, claims that the decision was taken after consultations within and outside of government, and on the basis of study
conducted by national specialists.
10. Norway
Following the country’s justice minister Emilie Enger Mehl’s information agencies throughout Norway identified China and Russia as the primary threats to Norway’s safety interests.
The program cannot be used on phones provided by the government for ministers or other officials in Norway, which led to the current prohibition.
11. The Republic of Somalia
Due to worries over information linked to terrorism, the Somali government restricted TikTok in August of 2023.
As the nation started taking action to stop the dissemination of propaganda and offensive material, the ban also applied to the messaging app Telegram and the web-based bookmaker 1XBet.
Internet service providers were instructed to limit the network services of the impacted applications after the ban was implemented by the country’s secretary of communications, Jama
Hassan Khalif, since terrorists and other immoral organizations had been using them to disseminate horrifying pictures and false information to the public.
12. Taiwan
In 2022, in December, the use of TikTok and other Chinese-made applications on government equipment in Taiwan was outlawed.
The country’s investigation into the Chinese-owned app, which was suspected of running an unlawful subsidiary there, led to the ban.
13. United Kingdom
In 2023, the UK became one of the several nations that forbade the use of government-owned equipment to access the Chinese social media site.
Oliver Dowden, an official in the Cabinet Office, claims that the move follows similar limits put in place by important global stakeholders like the European Commission, the governments of the
United States and Canada, and the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre.
14. The United States
The long-term existence of TikTok is at present in jeopardy because a bill has been proposed, A measure intended to prohibit the site’s activity within the nation has recently been passed,
posing a threat to its future. After the FBI and US Department of Justice accused TikTok of eavesdropping on American journalists and opened an investigation into the website’s activities, the
US took the initial steps to outlaw the social networking site in 2023. The US government claims that there are increasing worries that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, would
provide the Chinese government access to user data from US consumers.
15. Italy
The Italian Competition Ministry has fined TikTok €10 million for neglecting to shield users from the dangerous game known as the French Scar Challenge, which has put the firm in a difficult
position. The sentence coincides with a slew of limitations imposed by the US and European nations to sever the platforms’ ties to Bytedance, the company’s Chinese parent.
The Italian government claims that TikTok neglected to put in place the proper systems to keep an eye on information posted on the platform, especially any that would endanger the
protection of children or others who are at risk.
