The European Commission announced on Thursday that it was banning staffers from using TikTok on government-issued devices, citing security concerns.
Staff members were told to remove the social media app from their work devices as well as their personal devices used for work, The Associated Press reported.
In a statement, the EU body said the “measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks against the corporate environment of the Commission.”
The EU ban follows increasing pressure from U.S. lawmakers to ban the app nationwide. The lawmakers have expressed concerns that TikTok poses national security and privacy risks based on data it is able to collect on Americans using the app.
Earlier this year, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) introduced a bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S.
Hawley told The Hill that the problem with the app is that it’s “a backdoor for the Chinese Communist Party into the personal data and the personal lives of every American who uses it, that includes especially our kids.”
Hawley was successful last year at passing a legislation — that has now become law — that prohibits the use of TikTok on government devices.
The Hill has reached out to TikTok for comment on the EU move.
