The Philippines is mulling a partial ban on TikTok, with the country’s National Security Council (NSC) contemplating prohibiting the popular social media app for government employees, particularly those involved in national security.
The NSC’s move echoes a global sentiment, with several countries such as Australia, Canada, India, and the United States having already banned TikTok due to concerns surrounding data security, particularly its ownership by China’s ByteDance Ltd.
“The proposal to ban TikTok is simply for the security sector because many, many countries in the world have already banned TikTok in government devices,” NSC Assistant Director Jonathan Malaya told reporters on Tuesday.
Malaya stressed that the potential ban on TikTok is for government employees and would not apply to the general public — at least for now.
TikTok has repeatedly denied allegations that it shares user data with the Chinese government, but it has also been criticized for its lack of transparency about its data collection practices.
The NSC’s move to consider a ban on TikTok is the latest in a string of actions by the Philippine government to address data security concerns. The country has been a frequent target of cyberattacks in recent years, prompting a proactive stance to safeguard sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
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