Europe 1 with AFP 2:17 p.m., March 10, 2023
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Friday a six-month ban on the use of the TikTok app on state-provided feature phones, citing the risk of sensitive data being misused for the benefit of China. federal.
In recent weeks, the European Commission and Parliament have already banned TikTok from their employees' devices, as has the Danish parliament.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Friday the ban for six months on the use of the TikTok application on function phones provided by the federal state, due to the risk of misappropriation of sensitive data for the benefit of the China.
"We must not be naive: TikTok is a Chinese company which today is obliged to cooperate with the Chinese intelligence services. This is the reality", justified the Flemish liberal leader in a press release.
The ban concerns browsing on this social network with a professional smartphone, but not use on a personal device by civil servants, cabinet members or ministers of the federal state.
A ban for six months which will then be "reassessed"
Flanders, the largest region of the country (the Dutch-speaking north), had already made a similar decision on Thursday.
If these personal devices are used for professional purposes, it is nevertheless "recommended (...) not to install the application", specifies the press release.
Last week, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder, who uses TikTok for her political communication, assured that the application was installed on a phone dedicated solely to this use.
The ban decided on Friday will last six months and will then be "reassessed".
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The app already banned by the Commission and the European Parliament
It was decided on the basis of an analysis produced jointly by the National Center for Cybersecurity (CCB) and State Security (civilian intelligence) which assesses the risks of espionage.
In recent weeks, the European Commission and Parliament have already banned TikTok from their employees' devices, as has the Danish parliament.
In the United States, where a law has decided to ban TikTok from the devices of public officials, a bill supported by the White House could lead to a total ban on the application.
Belgium, which hosts the headquarters of NATO and many European institutions, is "a very attractive target for espionage and Chinese influence activities", noted in January the last annual report of the Security of the 'State.
The text mentioned the "particularly problematic" situation of employees or lobbyists linked to Chinese interests, who "often do not realize how closely the company or institution they work for is linked to China's strategic geopolitical objectives".