Austrian civil servants and federal politicians will now be forced to remove the short video app Tiktok from their work cellphones.
Vienna – The ban aims to prevent the Chinese operator of Tiktok from accessing state data as far as possible, as Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) explained on Wednesday. For politics and administration of federal states and communities, it is also recommended not to use the app for business, he said.
Karner pointed out that politicians and civil servants could continue to use Tiktok on private devices. In addition, departments such as the Interior Ministry would also inform the public via Tiktok, he told reporters.
Australia, Canada, Britain and the European Commission had previously issued similar regulations for the public sector. In Germany, Tiktok is neither installed on government cellphones nor downloadable.
Tiktok is owned by Chinese tech company Bytedance. It is not a crown corporation. But critics point out that the Communist Party and Chinese authorities have many ways to influence internet companies and gain access to their data. (dpa)
“Internet evangelist. Extreme communicator. Subtly charming alcohol aficionado. Typical tv geek.”