Austria Bans TikTok On Government Work Phones

Austria announced on Wednesday that it has banned the use of the social media platform TikTok on official phones due to security concerns. The ban comes as a growing number of Western nations are cracking down on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app.

The EU's two biggest policymaking institutions also banned the app in March, citing privacy concerns. Austria is now joining a long list of countries that have taken action against TikTok, including the United States, India, and Australia.

The Austrian government said in a statement that it had "taken into account the security risks posed by this application" and decided to ban it from federal employees' work phones. The statement added that there were "no indications of any misuse of data" but that they wanted to take a precautionary approach.

TikTok has been under increased scrutiny over its handling of user data and its ties to China's government. The company has denied any wrongdoing and insists that user data is secure and not shared with Beijing.

Despite these assurances, many governments remain wary of the app and are taking steps to protect their citizens' data privacy. Austria's decision is just one example of how governments around the world are responding to these concerns.