TIKING OVER Will TikTok be banned in the UK?

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TIKTOK is facing fresh controversy following claims that the app may be passing on private data to the Chinese government.

The popular app is known for its viral memes and dance challenges - but could it be banned in the UK over privacy fears?

Could TikTok be banned in the UK?
There are no current reports suggesting that the app will be banned in the UK, despite the US continuing investigations into outlawing the app.

One industry expert has said that a ban is "plausible" but "less likely" than in other countries.

Social media consultant Matt Navarra said: "Just because the US is considering banning TikTok doesn’t mean the UK will follow.

"The concerns held about China and Chinese companies by the US and UK may well be similar, but the way it seems to be approaching them seems to be diverging".


It comes after India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps on July 7 in a watershed move by regulators.

The country was TikTok's top market for downloads, according to CNN, and there is little chance of the ban being lifted soon.

Has China banned the app?
TikTok is not accessible in China without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

However, China has its own version of the app named DouYin, which is hugely popular.

DouYin also belongs to parent company ByteDance, who have been careful to distance themselves from the Chinese government in recent weeks.

But the company was rocked by leaked reports published in the Guardian in 2019 that revealed that Beijing was instructing the app's moderators to remove videos mentioning Tiananmen Square or Tibetan Independence.

ByteDance, set up by Chinese tech mogul Zhang Yiming, posted a huge £3billion profit in 2019.

Will TikTok be banned in the US or other countries?
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the White House is "looking at" a potential ban on the app.

When asked by Fox News whether he would recommend downloading the app, he said: "Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party".

The statement will deeply concern TikTok as the US represents a huge share of their market, and comes amid rising tension between the two superpowers over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian government is also under pressure to outlaw the popular app amid concerns it poses a serious national security threat.

One unnamed MP in the country told the Herald Sun that the app should be probed to see if it is part of a plot by the Chinese Communist Party to collect data, and claims that many of his fellow politicians agree.

Responding to India's ban, the company's chief executive Kevin Mayer categorically denied that TikTok would ever share data with the Chinese government.

In the letter, seen by Reuters, he said: "I can confirm that the Chinese government has never made a request to us for the TikTok data of Indian users.

"If we do ever receive such a request in the future, we would not comply."

How many people in the UK use TikTok?
According to figures from Campaign, the app has 4.9 million users in the UK.

This could be set to double by next year, reaching a potential 10.1 million people.

India, where the app is now banned, reached 190.6 million downloads in 2019 - more than anywhere else in the world.

There are close to 800 million TikTok users across the globe.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/120611...tok-banned-uk/