UK to ban TikTok over China spy fears: What is TikTok, who owns it, and why is it banned?

The UK Government is set to ban TikTok for its members due to national security concerns over the app's links to China.

The Government is expected to ban TikTok from its employees’ mobile phones over cyberattack concerns on the Chinese-owned app. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden will make a statement in Parliament this afternoon which addresses the “security of government devices”.

TikTok’s connection to China has been a concern for years as its parent company ByteDance is Chinese and was accused of passing user information on to Beijing. This is also why then US President Donald Trump requested a ban on the video-sharing app in 2020 due to its security threat.

This development comes after the UK government was criticised over a recent decision not to label China a threat in the update of the UK foreign policy. TikTok said it would be ‘disappointed’ if the UK proceeds with the ban and attributed former bans to ‘misplaced fears’ driven by ‘wider geopolitics’.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said on Tuesday he is awaiting a report from the National Cyber Security Centre before making a move on the “hugely important question”. Here’s what TikTok is, who owns it and which countries have banned the app as well as why.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a video-sharing app that lets users edit and publish short-form videos on a variety of topics. Users usually create lip-syncing videos but can creatively use filters, background music and sound effects to create all kinds of entertaining videos.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub it now has over 1 billion active users on a monthly basis. In China, TikTok works as a separate app under the name ‘Douyin’ which has its own unique algorithm tailoring content to its users.

File photo dated 12/11/19 of a young person using the TikTok app on a smartphone, as some young TikTok users are being shown potentially dangerous content which could encourage eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, an online safety group has claimed.

Who owns TikTok?

Before TikTok had that name, it was known as Musical.ly. This video-sharing app was acquired by ByteDance in 2018 which saw the name change and the app explode into the worldwide phenomenon it is today.

ByteDance was founded by Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo and their team in 2012, their headquarters are in China’s capital city, Beijing.

Why are countries banning TikTok?

According to AP News, more than half of the US states have already banned TikTok over fears that “its parent company, ByteDance, would give user data — such as browsing history and location — to the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation”.

Which countries have banned TikTok?

Globally, a number of countries have issued bans on the video-sharing app. Sky News reports that this includes Pakistan, Jordan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Euro News adds that Europe, the US and Canada have also recently issued orders prohibiting the use of TikTok.

Afghanistan banned the app in 2022 on the grounds of protecting youth from “being misled”. This is an ongoing concern in the West as the app is widely criticised as dangerous for young people’s mental health.