US Senate asks to analyze TikTtok ban 0:57
(CNN) --
The European Commission on Thursday banned the installation and use of TikTok on official devices, marking the latest challenge from a government entity to the social media platform.
Citing cybersecurity concerns, officials said Thursday's decision applies only to devices supervised by the European Union's executive branch.
“This measure is intended to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions that can be exploited for cyberattacks against the agency's corporate environment,” a statement said.
The move puts more pressure on TikTok, which has been banned on US government devices and on devices run by some US states, amid concerns that the app's user data could end up in government hands. Chinese.
The reasons why the CEO of TikTok will testify before the US Congress.
TikTok previously disclosed to European users that China-based employees can access EU user data.
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TikTok, "disappointed" with the decision of the European Commission
TikTok called the European Commission's ban on official devices "misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions," adding that it is "disappointed with the decision."
In a statement to CNN, a TikTok spokesperson said it contacted the Commission to "set the record straight and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU who visit TikTok each month."
“We continue to enhance our approach to data security, including establishing three data centers in Europe to store user data locally;
further reduce employee access to data;
and minimize data flows outside of Europe,” the spokesperson said.
Asked about the matter at a press conference on Thursday, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said: "The commission's corporate board of directors made this decision because it had some reasons for doing so."
Breton added that the European Commission has a strong focus on cybersecurity, but did not comment further on why the decision was made.
EU spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova also told reporters at a press conference: "The commission regularly issues recommendations on the use of different apps by staff."
Spokesman Eric Mamer also told reporters at a press conference: "We are constantly looking at the cybersecurity of the commission's digital applications and our facilities and making decisions, and we do not make the rationale behind these decisions public for obvious reasons." .
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