A spokesperson said the European Commission has banned TikTok on official devices used by staff over data security concerns.
The ban also means that European Commission staff cannot use Chinese-owned video-sharing apps on personal devices, including phones, that have official apps installed.
The spokesperson confirmed a report by news site Euractive.
Tiktok said that it is disappointed with this ‘misguided’ decision, reports RTE.
The employees should delete the app as soon as possible and should do so by March 15.
TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over how much access Beijing has to user data.
The US banned the app from federal government equipment last year, and some US politicians are trying to ban TikTok’s operations in the country.
Last month, the Dutch government reportedly advised public officials to stay away from the app over similar concerns, reports RTE.
In November, TikTok acknowledged that some employees in China could access data from European users.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month for talks with EU officials, during which he warned TikTok to ensure the security of European users’ data.
He stressed that the company was working on a “robust” system for processing the data of Europeans in Europe, an EU spokeswoman said at the time, reports RTE.
TikTok has also promised to keep US user data in the US to address Washington’s concerns.
In a statement, TikTok said: “We are disappointed with this decision, which we believe to be misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions. We have contacted the Commission to set the record straight and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU who come to TikTok every month,” reports RTE.
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