Telia bans use of TikTok on company devices
Swedish Telecomms provider Telia has announced it is barring its employees from using the Tiktok app on work phones, computers and other devices, citing security concerns.
Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports, citing a Telia press release, that the new rules will go into effect at the end of this month and affect its operations in Finland, Estonia, and the other five countries Telia operates in, totaling around 20,000 employees.
Telia Finland quality and security management chief Kalle Kaasalainen said: "Telia's networks are a key part of the critical, national infrastructure, which is why, based on careful evaluation, we ended up banning the use of the application on work devices."
The broad range of data from users that Tiktok demands could lead to a situation which could threaten Telia's corporate security, Kaasalainen added, harming both the company and customers, and noted that many authorities in Finland have already banned the use of the application on staff work devices.
The U.S. State of Montana is the one of the latest jurisdictions to have banned the use of Tiktok, for much the same reasons as noted above, the state governor – not John Dutton, but rather Greg Gianforte (R) – said recently.
TikTok is a video-sharing platform for those with perhaps not the most resilient attention spans in human history, meaning it tends to appeal more to a younger demographic who may not be fully aware of the importance of cyber security.
Former Minister of IT and Foreign Trade Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) said in March that the app would be banned from state officials' devices.
A blanket ban on TikTok in Estonia, as a democracy, is, however, difficult without the correct legislative framework being put in place, while the state Information System Authority (RIA) has recommended it be used on a separate device, indeed if it be used at all.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Yle