New Zealand is the latest country to ban the use of the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok by its lawmakers.

TikTok will be banned on all devices with access to the parliamentary network starting 31 March, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said.

“This decision has been made based on our own experts’ analysis and following discussion with our colleagues across government and internationally,” he added.

Earlier, the governments of Canada, Britain and the United States banned TikTok from government-issued devices amid cyber security concerns that data could be viewed by officials in Beijing. The European Commission has also ordered TikTok struck from their employees’ devices.

In 2020, India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps after deadly clashes on the two countries’ disputed border.

TikTok has admitted ByteDance employees in China accessed details of US accounts but it has always denied turning over data to the Chinese authorities.

Current US president Joe Biden has threatened to ban the app outright unless TikTok separates from ByteDance.

WITH AFP