Danish parliament urges lawmakers to uninstall TikTok over espionage fears

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AA) - Danish parliamentarians on Tuesday were strongly urged to uninstall the TikTok app from their work devices – cellphones, tablets, and computers – over security concerns.

A parliamentary press release said that the call was based on recommendations from the Center for Cyber Security (CFCS). “When the CFCS estimates there is a risk of espionage by using TikTok, then we adhere to that. We thereby follow the line that the center has set regarding state institutions,” said Parliament Speaker Soren Gade. "The Danish parliament takes stock of the assessments that come from security authorities.”

The press release said an email was sent to all members and employees of parliament with “a strong recommendation” to delete the TikTok app if they have previously installed it.

Meanwhile, the European Union has also moved to ban TikTok on official work phones, and a number of the US states have also put a ban on the app service.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance – a Chinese firm – suspected by Western authorities of passing on users' data to the Chinese government. The firm has maintained that the bans on it are based on a “basic misunderstanding of our corporate structure.”

The Danish engineering association has called for the state to ban the functionality of the app on all phones used for official correspondence in the public sector.