Amsterdam Authorities To Ban TikTok On Officials' Work Phones - Reports

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2023) The municipality of Amsterdam, following the Dutch government's example, intends to ban the Chinese TikTok from the work phones of civil servants, while not excluding a possible ban on Telegram, Dutch media reported on Tuesday.

City authorities want to ban the use of TikTok on civil servants' work phones, following the example of the country's Cabinet, which advised government officials against using applications from states with an "offensive cyber program" against the Netherlands, such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, the Dutch newspaper NL Times reported Tuesday, citing a letter from municipality member Touria Meliani to the City Council.

According to Meliani, by rejecting such applications, Amsterdam wants to prevent "a potential security risk with regard to information security and personal data protection," the report read.

City officials do not rule out banning other applications, such as Telegram, in the near future, according to the report.

City leaders will now oblige city council members "to remove the application as soon as possible," the report read. The political leadership will also reportedly remove TikTok from their phones.

A similar TikTok access prohibition was adopted in France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and several states of the US. Restrictions on the access to TikTok from corporate devices were also imposed in the European Commission, the European Parliament and in the Council of the European Union.