Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that “there are some concerns” about how the data collected by TikTok might be used and how it might be disseminated.
Mr Varadkar was speaking in Cork this morning following new guidance issued to government departments by the National Cyber​​Security Center, advising state agencies against using video-sharing apps on official devices.
The US and UK governments, as well as EU institutions, recently banned Chinese-owned platforms from employees’ devices over cybersecurity concerns.
The government said in February it would seek new safety advice on the issue following a ban in other countries, and the NCSC has now conducted a technical assessment.
Mr Varadkar said it was important to recognize that the company was “a big investor in Ireland and employs a lot of people”, but added that the government needed to “take the advice of cybersecurity experts,” reports RTE.
In a statement, a spokesperson for TikTok said: “We are disappointed by this decision and were not consulted prior to the announcement being made. Similar decisions in other countries have been based on fundamental misconceptions and we are always happy to engage with governments and institutions to explain how we protect our TikTok community and their data,” reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Mr Brown said: “The approach we’ve taken is precautionary in nature. We’re not saying that the application can’t be used by other individuals or shouldn’t be used by politicians outside of official devices. The risk here is to public data. This is part of a larger international process.”
TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over how much access China has to user data, but the company has previously called the ban on its app on government devices misleading and based on misunderstanding.
To address data security concerns, TikTok has announced plans to store European user information in two data centers in Dublin and a third center in Norway.
Last month, a US Congressional committee questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew whether the Chinese government could access user data or affect what Americans see on the app, reports RTE.
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