UK expected to ban TikTok from government mobile phones

Britain is expected to announce a ban on the Chinese owned video-sharing app TikTok on government mobile phones imminently, bringing the UK inline with the US and European Commission and reflecting deteriorating relations with Beijing.

At least two cabinet ministers use TikTok. Michelle Donelan, the science and technology minister, and Grant Shapps, the energy security and net zero secretary, also has an account, on an app used by millions of young people and a string of celebrities and other influencers.

Charles Parton, a China expert with 22 years of UK Foreign Office experience of working with the country, said he thought any ban should be extended to cover ministers and officials on their personal phones.

TikTok, ultimately owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is scrambling to convince lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic that it can address concerns about data security and access to its recommendation algorithm, which curates what its more than 1 billion users see on the app.