THE UK has “no plans” to ban TikTok like the US, Downing Street has confirmed – despite mounting fears the app could be scrapped following America’s block tomorrow.
Downing Street poured cold water on the notion today, insisting Biden’s ban – which is just hours away – is a “matter for the US”.
The spokesperson assured that it was working alongside all social media platforms to ensure that data protection rules were not being breached.
The US Supreme Court this week upheld Joe Biden’s decision to ban the US branch of the app under its current Chinese parent company.
The president signed a law last April, mandating the social media giant’s separation from ByteDance, over fears that the company was using data to gather information on millions of Americans.
TikTok tried to appeal the decision, arguing that such a ban would be unconstitutional and impinge on freedom of speech.
But the court has now refused to block the law – which theoretically means it will be banned on January 19 unless it is sold.
However, it does not appear that the same will happen in the UK.
The government spokesperson told The Sun: “This is a matter for the US government. There are no plans to introduce a TikTok ban in the UK.
“We engage with all major social media companies to understand their plans for ensuring the security of UK data and to ensure they meet the high data protection and cyber security standards we expect.”
Despite the unanimous decision in the Supreme Court, with judges voting 9-0, there is still some uncertainty over the future of the app.
Biden has signalled he will not enforce the law while he remains in office, leaving the decision up to his successor Donald Trump.
Despite this, bosses at the company announced that the app will be forced to “go dark” on January 19 – as the US government has failed to provide any guarantees against an imminent shut-down.
In a statement on Friday, TikTok said: “Statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”
The White House had previously said that while the service should remain available to Americans, this would only be possible under new ownership.
The statement said: “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.”
1
