European Commission bans TikTok on staff devices

Staff working at the European Commission have been ordered to remove the TikTok app from their phones and corporate devices.

The commission said it was implementing the measure to "protect data and increase cybersecurity".

TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has faced allegations that it harvests users' data and hands it to the Chinese government.

TikTok insists it operates no differently from other social media.

European Union (EU) industry chief Thierry Breton told a news conference that the union's executive is very focused on cybersecurity, declining to provide further details.

The ban also means that European Commission staff cannot use TikTok on personal devices that have official apps installed.

The commission says it has around 32,000 permanent and contract employees.

They must remove the app as soon as possible and no later than 15 March.

For those who do not comply by the set deadline, the corporate apps - such as the commission email and Skype for Business - will no longer be available.

TikTok said the commission's decision was based on mistaken ideas about its platform.

"We are disappointed with this decision, which we believe to be misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions," a spokesperson said.

Last year, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users.

TikTok's parent company ByteDance has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data.

The US government banned TikTok last year on federal government-issued devices due to national security concerns.