Oliver Dowden today confirmed the news that TikTok is to be banned from all government devices. The decision followed a security review which found that, given the risk to sensitive data, strengthening policy on third party apps and banning TikTok “with immediate effect” would be proportionate. The restriction follows similar moves by the US, Canada and European Commission and will not apply to the personal devices of government officials. Dowden said:

“The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review… Restricting the use of TikTok on Government devices is a prudent and proportionate step following advice from our cyber security experts.”

Spare a thought for Grant Shapps and Luke Evans. The Ministry of Defence still has a public account on the platform, which it will continue to use “to promote the work of the Armed Forces and to communicate our support to Ukraine“. Presumably because they know the CCP are watching…