Head of GCHQ in important update to parents over children's use of TikTok

The head of GCHQ has urged parents to have a conversation with children over the use of TikTok.

The head of GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Fleming, said he would not stop children using TikTok, but encouraged parents to discuss data protection and safety with youngsters.

The intelligence chief has warned of the long-term security threat of using Chinese technology, which he said China is using to exert influence over people and governments around the world.

Sir Jeremy said he would not stop children using TikTok – which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance – but said young people should be more aware of their personal data and how it could be shared.

The head of GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Fleming, said he would not stop children using TikTok, but encouraged parents to discuss data protection and safety with youngsters.

“No, I wouldn’t (stop children from using TikTok), but I would speak to my child about the way in which they think about their personal data on their device,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“Because I think it’s really important from a very early age that we understand that there is no free good here. When we are using these services we are exchanging our data for that and if it’s proportionate and we’re happy with the way that data is safeguarded then that’s great.

“Make the most of that, make those videos, use TikTok – but just think before you do.”

Fleming warned China is using science and technology as a way of bringing other countries “into its sphere of influence”.

Sir Jeremy Fleming said countries seeking economic support from China might find this comes with “a lot of strings attached”, such as the imposed adoption of Chinese technologies, suggesting it could have potential security implications.

“And with that technology, of course, comes Chinese insight into your data,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The GCHQ director added China could use its own version of GPS technology to monitor and track individuals.

Warning of the long-term security threat of the Chinese state, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The Chinese version of GPS is a service called Baidu. It’s now present in over 120 countries around the world.

“And we think that’s a problem because it is on the one hand providing very accurate services akin to GPS and the convenience that comes from that, but on the other side its capabilities, its data, are openly available to the Chinese state.

“And our proposition with Baidu and a range of other technologies is that the data is being used to control and surveil and not just support prosperity.

“And when that’s done inside a system that has none of the checks and balances that we have in the West or that we have here in the United Kingdom, I think that’s something that should concern us.”