Sir Iain Duncan Smith calls for TikTok to be banned amid claims firm is 'as much a threat as Huawei'

Sir Iain has called for the popular app to be banned
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Ellena Cruse20 July 2020

Sir Iain Duncan Smith has called for Tik Tok to be banned in the UK following claims it poses "as much threat as Huawei".

A number of senior Conservative MPs have voiced concerns over the social media platform, which they say raises similar security concerns and "very significant political and data privacy issues" as the Chinese telecommunications company.

TikTok has insisted that China’s Communist Party does not have access to the personal information of its account holders and it is safe to use.

It comes as Boris Johnson ordered firms to remove Huawei equipment from the 5G network by 2027 in a move costing billions and delaying the deployment of 5G by up to three years.

The Prime Minister made a u-turn on Huawei being used in 5G technology 
PA

The social media app is owned by internet company ByteDance, which was founded in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming.

Speaking to the Standard Sir Iain, who formerly led the Conservative Party, said: "Tik Tok has the ability to harvest data and is considered a security risk, not just in the UK and USA but in countries as diverse as India and Japan.

"ByteDance is considered an untrusted vendor and as such similar to Huawei.

"We need to treat it the same way we treat Huawei and ban it."

Tik Tok has denied it poses a security risk
PA

Bob Seely, Tory MP for the Isle of Wight, said there were “very significant political and data privacy issues” with the app.

He told The Times: "I would certainly have a look at it and if other countries are doing the same thing we need to be careful about it."

Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chairman of the foreign affairs committee, warned relationships formed with foreign companies should be carefully considered.

“Democratic nations need to be more aware of the partners they’re working with and the reputations they have in their own countries," he told The Times.

"Companies like Byte Dance raise serious questions about who they’re willing to work with and what that co-operation will enable.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has previously claimed that people should only use the social media app if they are happy for their data to be accessed by the Chinese state.

Asked about such claims, TikTok’s head of public policy for Europe, Theo Bertram, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the allegation is “completely false”.

“TikTok is not available in China. TikTok data is stored in the US,” he said.

“TikTok is a company incorporated in the US.

“There is zero truth to the accusations that the Chinese state has access to TikTok users’ data.”

Mr Bertram added that the social media app would “definitely say no” to any requests for data, and has been set up in a way to “give protection to our users from the Chinese government”.

“The suggestion that we are, in any way, under the thumb of the Chinese government is completely and utterly false,” he said.

Scrutiny of the social media app has increased in recent weeks as tensions between London and Beijing rose following the Huawei decision and UK criticism of a new national security law imposed on Hong Kong.

Mr Bertram said the app is being “kicked around as a political football” and that some of the “political rhetoric” is “getting out of the reality”.

The TikTok executive also dismissed reports that the company has shelved plans to build its global headquarters in London amid the ongoing tensions between the UK and China.

“We are still thinking about what to do about our global HQ and we haven’t made any decision on that yet, and anything else is speculation,” he said.

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