Czech Cybersecurity Agency Recommends Not Using TikTok Due To Security Risks

TikTok is starting to be banned in Re. Czechs. (photo: dock. tiktok)

The Czech Republic's cybersecurity watchdog, NUKIB, warned on Wednesday, March 8 that its citizens should not use the TikTok social media app owned by Chinese companies, following many Western agencies accusing the app of endangering security.

NUKIB recommends that TikTok not be installed on phones used to access critical and significant infrastructure.

"The agency is concerned about the security threats that arise from the use of TikTok, especially because of the amount of user data collected by the application and how to process the data," the NUKIB said.

"Such large-scale data collection is becoming concerned because the legal and political environment of the People's Republic of China (PRC), given ByteDance, the developer and administrator of TikTok, is subject to PRC jurisdiction," said NUKIB.

NUKIB also recommends that politicians and officials avoid using TikTok, and says the general public should consider whether to use the app, especially to share content. However, TikTok rejected the warning.

"This warning is based on a fundamental misconception about our company ownership and our data security," a TikTok spokesperson said via email.

"Independent security experts have consistently found that we do not collect more data from other public applications, often even less. The Chinese government has no holdings on either TikTok or our parent company, and both are registered outside China," said TikTok spokesman.

ByteDance has previously said that concerns about the app were fueled by disinformation, and has denied using it for spies. Beijing has also repeatedly denied having any intention of using the app for espionage.

Even so, some countries have taken steps to limit the use of TikTok. The United States last month set a time limit of 30 days to remove the app from federal devices and systems.

The European Parliament, European Commission, and Council of the European Union have also banned TikTok from their staff phones.