March 14 (UPI) — Britain might observe the United States, European Union and Canada in banning TikTok from authorities telephones, in line with the nation’s safety minister who’s taking a look at doable safety dangers posed by the Chinese-owned app.

Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat stated Tuesday that he had requested the National Cyber Security Center to look into TikTok saying it was “absolutely essential” to maintain Britain’s “diplomatic processes free and safe”.

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“We need to make sure our phones are not spyware. Understanding exactly what the challenges that these apps pose, what they are asking for and how they’re reaching into our lives is incredibly important,” he stated.

“What certainly clear is that, for many young people, TikTok is now a news source. And just as is quite right that we know who owns the news sources in the U.K. … it’s important that we know who owns news sources that are feeding into our phones.”

Tugendhat, a military veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, didn’t rule out banning it on authorities telephones, however stated he wished to attend for the conclusions of the NCSC.

Parliament has already closed its personal TikTok account after MPs raised issues about safety final yr.

Tuesday’s announcement got here in the future after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated Britain would have a look at the bans the United States, EU and Canada had applied for presidency telephones.

TikTok is dealing with intense scrutiny from Western governments over safety and information privateness worries amid fears the app might be used to gather and move on consumer information to Beijing or promote a pro-China agenda.

The firm denies allegations that it transfers information to the Chinese authorities and insists it operates no differently than different social media platforms.

The EU Commission and greater than half of U.S. states have already launched a ban over issues round potential cyber-attacks.

In a Feb. 27 memo, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget gave federal agencies 30 days to delete TikTok from employees and contractors’ work units.

The U.S. Senate handed laws in December banning TikTok from government-issued units. The No TikTok on Government Devices Act by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was handed by unanimous consent, sending it on to the House for approval.

President Joe Biden signed it into legislation Dec. 29 as a part of the federal authorities’s fiscal 2023 spending invoice.

Last month, the European Commission ordered its 32,000 employees to remove the TikTok app from units as quickly as doable and no later than March 15.

A 2020 try by President Donald Trump to introduce an outright ban was later blocked within the courts.