Dutch government staff told not to use TikTok

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The Dutch government will ban the use of the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok on work phones, local media reported Tuesday.

The Netherlands' 140,000 civil servants will only be able to use "approved apps," meaning "espionage-sensitive apps" will no longer be allowed, the NL Times reported.

"Recent parliamentary questions and international developments have led us to make a careful assessment that goes further than advising against one application,” State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen said in a letter to parliament.

According to the report, government services will also immediately start discouraging officials from having the app installed on their phone and soon all work phones will be set up to only allow the installation of pre-approved apps.

The General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD) recently warned of a "higher risk of espionage" from countries with cyber programs which target the Netherlands and its interests.

The move follows similar rules by the US, the UK, Canada and Belgium as well as EU institutions where authorities have asked their officials to uninstall the app amid security concerns that data may be accessed by China.