NSC: TikTok can be used as China’s ‘cyber espionage weapon’

National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya stressed that the social media platform TikTok can be used as a "cyber espionage weapon" by the Chinese government, hence, banning it must be crucial amid "Chinese information operations and propaganda happening in the Philippines."

In a television interview, Malaya said NSC Secretary Eduardo Año has already ordered the creation of a special task group to study the banning of TikTok applications for the government's security personnel.

Among the members of the task group are the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Department of Information and Communication Technology.

"We will meet very soon and the purpose of the course is to make a thorough study on the proposal to ban TikTok among security personnel of the government," he said.

Malaya said the proposal targets to protect the country's security personnel from data collection attempts or any cyber espionage as well as the possible use of the app as a social influence tool.

"You know through an algorithm, it can affect civic discourse, so on that basis, we are making this study and hope we finish it soon so that we can take the proper recommendation to National Security Adviser Año," he said.

While other applications also do advertising surveillance as much as TikTok, Malaya pointed out "they are not Chinese companies."

"If you are a Western company, there are recourses you can back against government. If the government wants to get personal data, you can go to court and you can appeal," he said.

"But unfortunately, TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is a Chinese company based in China and as you all know, under Chinese law, all Chinese companies have to cooperate with the government, with the Chinese Communist Party, if required to do so," he added.

Malaya said there have been "Chinese information operations and propaganda" happening in the Philippines.

"So we are doing this as a proactive step to ensure the security of our security personnel," he added, citing an incident that TikTok was caught spying against a Forbes journalist in the United States.

"As we can see here, there's this possibility of the use of Tiktok as a cyber espionage weapon by this government," Malaya lamented.

Expanded TikTok ban to NBI, BI

Meanwhile, Malaya said some agencies have been suggested to be included in the possible ban on using the TikTok app.

"But as I said, the study is still ongoing. For example, it's been suggested that the Bureau of Immigration should also be covered by the ban. They are part of the Department of Justice. Individuals, for example, from the National Bureau of Investigation, who are into law enforcement," he said.

"But as I said, we're starting first with the security sector and maybe expand depending on what the study reveals as to the possibility of TikTok being a tool for data collection or cyber espionage," he added.

Meanwhile, the AFP has assured that "precautionary measures" are in place in lieu of protecting national security from internal and external threats.

AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said the military has already implemented measures on the use of TikTok.

"Our thoughts on the TikTok, actually, we had initiated precautionary measures so that we can be insulated from the spyware there is in using this application," Aguilar said in a previous interview.

"There is a policy already on the use of social media platforms to make sure the security of the organization is not exposed or compromised and the credibility of the Armed Forces is not also compromised," he added.

Tiktok became the third most used social media platform in the Philippines in January 2023 as mentioned in a study by Meltwater.

Countries, including the United States and New Zealand, earlier banned the TikTok app on government-issued devices due to concerns it could be circumvented for spying or propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party.

The European Commission and Canada also banned the use of TikTok in its devices.

The owner, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, repeatedly denied accusations that it shares data with the Chinese government.