BBC urges staff to delete TikTok from company devices
The BBC has urged staff to delete TikTok from any corporate devices unless they are using it for editorial and marketing reasons.
Guidance reportedly sent to staff at the broadcaster yesterday said: “We don’t recommend installing TikTok on a BBC corporate device unless there is a justified business reason. If you do not need TikTok for business reasons, TikTok should be deleted.”
It comes after the social media app, owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, was banned on UK government phones amid fears of sensitive data being accessed.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC takes the safety and security of our systems, data and people incredibly seriously.
“We constantly review activity on third party platforms – including TikTok – and will continue to do so.”
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The corporation will continue to utilise the video-sharing platform to promote its content, including news stories, but it will be regularly assessing the situation.
The move is a sharp change for the broadcaster which has launched multiple pages on the app in a bid to reach new audiences.
The official BBC TikTok account, which has 4.4 million followers, is still active on the platform and has continued to post content.
Various other pages including those for BBC News, BBC Sport and BBC Radio 1 also remain available.
BBC’s technology editor Zoe Kleinman confirmed the broadcaster had taken action, tweeting: “The BBC today has warned staff about having TikTok on corporate phones unless there is an editorial or business reason.
“Yes, this does affect me. But bigger picture: TikTok denies any data sharing with China. Nobody has found a smoking gun. And yet the fears grow louder.”
Source: RTE
