Pro IQRA News Updates. 
The decision to ban TikTok from government phones after China criticized a security review.
The ban, announced Thursday by Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden, will still allow ministers and officials to use the Chinese-owned app on their personal phones.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come under pressure from senior members of Parliament to follow the US and European Union in blocking the video-sharing app from official devices.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy accused the government of acting “on political motives, not facts”.
Security of sensitive government information must come first, which is why today we block this app on government devices. Use of other data mining applications will remain under review
Oliver Dowden
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, said it was “disappointed” with the decision and said the ban was based on “fundamental misconceptions and is driven by broader geopolitics”.
With ministers urged to go ahead and remove it from personal devices as well, Cabinet Minister and prominent TikToker MP Grant Shapps has vowed to continue using it with precautions on his own phone.
Mr Dowden announced the “precautionary step” – which was not extended to members of the public – “with immediate effect”.
He said it was a prudent and proportionate move after “advice from our cybersecurity experts” as he cited the risks around how TikTok accessed sensitive information.
“The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The use of other data mining apps will be kept under review,” the minister said.
But he said there would be “limited exceptions” to certain government agencies made on a “case by case” basis where a video-sharing app is required for business purposes.
Downing Street said there was no plan to delete account number 10.
We remain committed to working with the Government to address any concerns but must be judged on facts based on facts and treated on an equal footing with our competitors.
TikTok spokesperson
The Cabinet Office said the ban was imposed because TikTok users are required to hand over data including contacts, user content and geolocation data.
TikTok has long said it does not share data with China, but the country’s intelligence legislation requires companies to assist the Communist Party when requested. Critics fear the policy could expose Beijing’s Western statements.
A spokesperson said: “We believe this ban has been based on fundamental misconceptions and is driven by wider geopolitics, in which TikTok and its millions of users in the UK play no role.
“We remain committed to working with the government to address any concerns but facts must be judged on the basis of facts and dealt with on an equal footing with our competitors.”
The embassy spokesperson said the ban “disrupts the normal operations of the relevant company in the UK, undermines the international community’s confidence in the UK business environment, and ultimately harms the UK’s own interests.”
“We urge the British side to respect the facts, abide by the rules of the market economy and the principle of fair competition, refrain from overburdening and misusing the concept of national security, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for companies from other countries,” the spokesperson said.
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith was among those who demanded that ministers and senior civil servants should be told to remove TikTok from their personal phones as well.
“Private phones are used for communications and I honestly don’t think that whatever the complaints may be, the fact is that these private phones will never be used for government business.
“They will be,” he told the House of Commons, “and there is no way to stop that to some extent.”
Nadine Dorris, a frequent poster on TikTok while serving as Boris Johnson’s culture secretary, tweeted: “My phone is personal. Today I removed TikTok and I think all MPs should do the same.”
But Mr Shapps, the energy security secretary, made it clear he would continue to use it on his personal phone while taking security precautions.
Writing on TikTok, he said: “I have never used TikTok on government machines and I can hereby confirm that I will not be leaving TikTok anytime soon!”
He included a clip from the movie Wolf of Wall Street in which Leonardo DiCaprio, portraying a New York stockbroker, declares that he is “not leaving” and “the show goes on.”
A spokeswoman for Mr Shapps said: “Grant has never used TikTok on government devices and believes security measures – such as not sharing location permission – are reasonable.
“However, he is concerned that representatives of people who deliberately choose not to engage with the public on the platforms they already use are unlikely to continue to represent these constituents for long.”
IPCA members in China have written to the Information Commissioner about concerns about the data protection of app users in the UK.
Caroline Harris, a member of the group and a Labor MP, tweeted: “I deleted my TikTok account today, and would encourage others to do the same.”
Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said the government was “closing the stable door after the horse bolted” after Parliament closed his account last year.
“Two weeks later, two ministers, two very different policies, the same pattern over and over again, a government behind the curve with stuck plaster solutions that had to be turned at a last-minute bend,” she said.
Security Secretary Tom Tugendhat asked the heads of the National Cyber Security Center to review the implementation.
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