TikTok: MSPs urged to remove Chinese-owned app from phones

MSPs and staff working at the Scottish parliament have been "strongly advised" to remove Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from their phones.

It follows a similar decision taken by the UK government earlier on Friday, banning ministers from using the app.

Holyrood officials said it was a precautionary approach after talks with the national cyber security centre.

In a statement they said the recommendation was "proportionate and necessary" on security grounds.

But they added that the advice would be "kept under review".

The UK government fears sensitive data held on official phones could be accessed by the Chinese government.

But TikTok has strongly denied allegations that it hands over users' data to Beijing.

Theo Bertram, the app's vice-president of government relations and public policy in Europe, told the BBC it believed fears were based "more on geopolitics than anything else".

"We asked to be judged not on the fears that people have, but on the facts," he added.

All MSPs, their staff, parliament staff and contractors' staff have been advised to remove the app from any device currently used to access Holyrood's IT systems.

This includes personal devices and devices issued by the parliament.

"We are giving this advice based on a precautionary approach and the best information available to us at this moment given the concerns around the information the Tik Tok application can collect from devices," said a statement from the parliament's security team.

"We consider this advice to be proportionate and necessary given the situation as we currently understand it.

"We will continue to liaise with cyber security partners including the National Cyber Security Centre and this advice will be kept under review."

The Welsh government has also banned TikTok from the work phones of ministers and civil servants.

The United States barred TikTok from official devices in December, and the European Commission followed suit last month.

The US government has also threatened to ban the app in the country amid reports it has requested a change in ownership.

But the company said a forced sale would not change its data flows or access.

Use of TikTok has exploded in recent years, with 3.5 billion downloads worldwide.

Its algorithm serves up videos which appeal to individual users.

The app gathers a lot of information on users - including their age, location, device and even their typing rhythms - while its cookies track their activity elsewhere on the internet.

TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance has faced claims of being influenced by Beijing.

A handful of Western journalists were found to have been tracked by ByteDance employees. ByteDance says they were sacked.

The Chinese state demands loyalty from all businesses based in the country, with intelligence laws requiring firms to help the Communist Party when requested.

TikTok insists it does not share data with Chinese officials.

China has accused the US of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok.

Western social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are blocked in China.