EU Commission bans TikTok from staff phones

The EU Commission has prohibited the use of the Chinese video app TikTok on business cell phones of EU officials and MEPs for the time being. Staff received instructions to that effect on Thursday, Commission spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova confirmed. The ban is said to be temporary. However, Gospodinova did not explain under what conditions the ban would be lifted. It also remained unclear whether new findings about data protection and cybersecurity issues at TikTok led to the decision. It is the first time that EU officials have ever been told not to use an app on their devices. When asked, Commission spokesman Eric Mamer stressed that there had been no pressure from the US to take this step.