Vienna, May 10. (dpa/GNA) – Government officials and federal politicians in Austria, will have to delete the video-sharing app TikTok from their government-issued phones, as Vienna aims to bar the Chinese operating firm from accessing sensitive data, the government said Wednesday.
For officials and politicians at state and municipal level, a recommendation was issued to also stop using the app for official purposes, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told journalists.
He went on to say that politicians and officials were free to continue using the app in private.
With the move, Austria joins Australia, Canada, Britain and the EU Commission which earlier issued similar regulations for the public sector.
TikTok is operated by the Chinese tech company Bytedance, which is not owned by the state. However, critics point out that the Communist Party and the authorities in China are in theory able to exert influence on internet companies and access their data.
GNA