Cabinet Office Minister – Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Smith of Basildon – says TikTok: “the restriction on use of the TikTok app on government devices remains in place”
Baroness Smith of Basildon, the Cabinet Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL1436):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether it remains their policy that TikTok is banned from Government phones and devices. (HL1436)
Tabled on: 09 October 2024
Answer:
Baroness Smith of Basildon:
The restriction on use of the TikTok app on government devices remains in place. Where an essential business requirement necessitates the use of TikTok, this is managed through a formal exemptions and approvals process.
In March 2023 the previous government introduced a precautionary ban on the TikTok application on government electronic devices following a security review. This review looked at the potential vulnerability of government data on government devices and risks around how sensitive information could be accessed and used.
Restricting use of the TikTok application on government devices is a prudent, proportionate measure to protect government device data. This data can be sensitive, particularly in relation to ministers’ devices given the sensitive nature of their role.
All government organisations and their Arm’s Length Bodies are required to control which third-party applications are permitted for use on their corporate devices under the cross-government Mobile Device Management policy. We keep our cyber security policies under constant review.
Date and time of answer: 23 Oct 2024 at 16:42.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65055712. BBC: The UK Parliament has banned Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from its network over security concerns.
A spokesman said the app, used by a number of British MPs, would also be blocked from devices issued to staff.
