The UK Parliament has closed down its TikTok account after MPs raised issues over allegations the corporate passes knowledge to the Chinese authorities.
Quite a few members wrote to the audio system in each the Commons and Lords final week calling for the social media account to be ditched, saying they had been “surprised and disappointed” it had been launched after “recent reports have made clear that… TikTok data is routinely transferred to China”.
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The lead writer of the letter, Tory MP Nus Ghani, tweeted the correspondence, which mentioned that regardless of being questioned by the enterprise choose committee, TikTok executives “were unable to reassure MPs that the company could prevent data transfer” to its mother or father firm, China-based ByteDance.
She mentioned if the agency requested and obtained it, “Bytedance would be legally obliged to hand over UK data to the PRC [People’s Republic of China] if requested”.
The letter, additionally signed by former management contender Tom Tugendhadt and ex-Tory chief Sir Iain Duncan Smith amongst others, added: “The prospect of Xi Jinping’s government having access to personal data on our children’s phones ought to be a cause for major concern.”
In their response, Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Lord McFall mentioned the account was “an attempt to engage with younger audiences – who are not always active on our existing social media platforms – regarding the work of parliament”.
But they added they had been “not consulted on the plans for this pilot project”.
They mentioned after conversations with officers and in gentle of the letter, “we have decided that the account should be closed with immediate effect”.
Sir Iain advised Sky News he was “over the moon” on the determination, including: “It should never have been opened in the first place, but it is good they have come to their senses.”
Ms Ghani additionally thanked the audio system on Twitter for “standing up for our values and protecting our data”, including: “Common sense prevails.”
Sky News has contacted TikTok for a response.
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