Mar 17, 2023
BY: ET OnlineList of countries that have banned TikTok and why
UK
The United Kingdom on Thursday banned TikTok on government phones on security grounds.
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US
In December 2022, the US banned TikTok on government devices and threatened to impose a complete ban, unless its Chinese owners, ByteDance, divest their stakes in it.
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New Zealand
New Zealand's parliamentary service has also announced its decision to ban the TikTok app on devices connected to government applications.
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Canada
Canada also announced that government-issued devices must not use TikTok soon after the US, saying that it presented an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security.
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Taiwan
In December 2022, Taiwan imposed a public sector ban on TikTok after the FBI warned that TikTok posed a national security risk.
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Belgium
Last week, Belgium announced it was banning TikTok from devices owned or paid for by Belgium's federal government over worries about cybersecurity, privacy, and misinformation.
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Denmark
On March 6, Denmark’s Defense Ministry announced its decision to “ban the use of the app on official units” as a cybersecurity measure. It claimed that there was a risk of espionage.
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Pakistan
Pakistani authorities have temporarily banned TikTok at least four times since October 2020, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral content.
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan's Taliban leadership also banned TikTok and the game PUBG in 2022 for very similar reasons to Pakistan, to prevent the youth from being misled.
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India
Being one of the earliest nations to ban TikTok in 2020, India banned (both private and government usage) TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, over privacy and security concerns.
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