VVD also left TikTok for security reasons

The firm recently called on government officials to stop having TikTok on their work phone because of the parent company in China, because that country has an “offensive cyber program against the Netherlands”, reports Secretary of State Alexandra van Huffelen (Digital Affairs). Eventually, she wants officials to no longer have applications from countries like China, but also from Iran and Russia. The four coalition parties VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie favor a ban, they said earlier this year.

The app, which is particularly popular with young people due to the short films, was recently discussed at the US Congress. There, the top man of the company in the United States is questioned about the intentions and the working method. Many countries are concerned that user data could be accessed by the Chinese government. The company strongly denies that this is happening.

D66 MP Hind Dekker-Abdulaziz recently called on fellow parliamentarians to keep TikTok away from their work phones. She finds it “incomprehensible” that parliamentarians are still allowed to use TikTok on their phones, “because members of the Senate and House of Representatives also work with sensitive government information.”

D66 has never been on TikTok itself, a spokesperson reports.