TikTok ban likely to spread to US allies – including Britain

It usually starts with countries in the Five Eyes Alliance.

The close intelligence sharing is between five English-speaking democracies: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

So far, all members have banned TikTok from public entities and some have also issued public warnings. Canada has ordered an end to TikTok’s Canadian operations, citing national security concerns.

The Five Eyes effect could be significant, and restrictions have already spread with the app banned on devices belonging to government employees, officials or military personnel in countries including Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Taiwan.

Ciaran Martin, who headed Britain’s National Cyber ​​Security Center during the Huawei and Kaspersky bans, agrees that generally when the US makes a national security or strategic decision about a company, Britain and allies eventually follow suit.

But as with everything to do with TikTok, he says there’s a big caveat in the form of the incoming Trump administration.

“What we don’t know yet is if TikTok will be the exception, since Trump has said he opposes the ban, will he order allies to copy a ban? We don’t know yet.”

Trump’s stance on TikTok has changed dramatically since his first term as president, when he tried to get it banned. Since then, he has gained a following after his re-election campaign gained support through TikTok videos.

Emily Taylor agrees that this unknown factor could make TikTok different from Huawei and Kaspersky.

“It depends on how much pressure the administration is willing to apply,” she told the BBC.

“If their foreign policy agenda is packed, it could fall down the list and leave countries waiting to force other allies to follow the ban.”

There are currently “no plans” for a TikTok ban in the UK, a government spokesman said on Saturday. “We are working with all major social media companies to understand their plans to ensure the security of UK data and to ensure they meet the high data protection and cyber security standards we expect.”