Credit: Original article can be found here
CyberCX welcomes Parliamentary Service’s decision to
ban TikTok on Parliament-issued devices as global concerns
grow about the Chinese government’s access to data collected
on the popular platform.
The Parliamentary Service ban
comes into effect from March 31, 2023, and includes
uninstalling it from personal phones that access Parliament
applications. It follows Britain’s ban overnight and follows
Australia, Canada, the EU, and the US banning TikTok on
government-issued devices, due to concern that users are
revealing more information than they realise. When
installed, the video content app can access troves of
personal information, including phone and location data,
contacts and messages, search history and keystroke
patterns. Users’ engagement with the app can also reveal
sensitive information, like political
preferences.
TikTok is owned by parent company
ByteDance, with the Chinese Communist Party owning a one per
cent stake.
CyberCX Executive Director of Executive
Director of Security Testing and Assurance, Adam Boileau,
says the ban is required to protect New Zealand’s
security, especially given the sensitive nature of
information on MPs and Minister’s devices.
“Global
tensions are rising following the Chinese spy balloon
incident earlier this year, and there are very valid
concerns around the world about the Chinese government’s
access to TikTok data and how it’s used.
“Any data
ByteDance stores in mainland China can be accessed by the
Chinese government under the guise of ‘national
security’. If TikTok were directed to act in China’s
interests, it would seriously threaten our security – so in
terms of government-issued phones, the ban is a
necessity,” he says.
The United States is even
considering going one step further, with the White House
backing a Congress bill that could give it the power to ban
TikTok and other foreign-based tech if they pose a threat to
national security. The proposed ban would apply to
technologies from China,
Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba.
“We
need to look beyond TikTok and urgently review the threat
other foreign technology poses – the risk to our nation’s
security is only increasing as we adopt more foreign
technology,” Boileau says.
“This only strengthens
the case for a dedicated Minister of Cyber Security to
provide singular, coordinated and comprehensive leadership
in responding to the global landscape we operate in and
threats we face daily”.
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