New Zealand was to join the ban to limit the use of TikTok on the devices of several countries’ parliamentarians, due to security fears over the use and maintenance of the Chinese-owned platform’s data.
According to Rafael González-Montero, executive head of the Parliamentary Services, lThe app will be banned from all devices with access to the parliamentary network from March 31, because security risks are unacceptable in the current environment.
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The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom also banned the ByteDance group’s platform for fears that authorities in China could access the data. In addition, the European Commission joined India’s determination in 2020 by instructing its employees to remove the app on their devices, following conflicts on the disputed border between the two Asian countries.
Although TikTok has announced that it is amenable to data processing and, in the European example, they store data on local servers, now the application is considering the possibility of leaving ByteDance Ltd.Chinese parent company to help address concerns about security risks.
This divestiture may result in a sale or initial public offering and is considered a last resort, which will only occur if the company’s current offer with national security authorities is not approved. Even then, the Chinese government would have to agree to such a transaction.
TikTok’s US business could be worth between $40 billion and $50 billion, According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and Damian Reimertz.
(You may be interested: TikTok is considering leaving its Chinese parent company ByteDance)
The company is also undergoing a national security review by the United States Committee on Foreign Investment, and last year it decided to implement changes to a plan it called Project Texas. The proposal includes US tech giant Oracle Corp. to host US user data and review software, and appoint a government-approved three-person oversight board. Many of these measures are already in place.
TikTok still doesn’t know if its plans will be enough to continue in the US, but Justice Department committee members are reluctant to accept the app’s offer. “Neither the banning of TikTok nor the separation from ByteDance addresses national security concerns about data transfers,” said Brooke Oberwetter, spokesperson for the company.
In the Texas Project he added: TikTok’s data for US users will be held to a higher security standard more than any comparable US company.
The company faces possible legislation in Congress, some of which call for secession. Concerned that the app will have to share data with the Chinese government, or that China may use it as a tool of influence, lawmakers are proposing several bills with bipartisan support that want the app banned or sold.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been asked to testify before a House committee next week about the app’s data privacy and security practices and the company’s affiliation with the Communist Party of China.
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Source: Exame
