Analysts have suggested that a US ban on TikTok could soon extend to allied nations and beyond, contingent on the Trump administration’s stance.
Currently, the popular app is inactive in the US, labelled a national security threat due to alleged links between its parent company ByteDance and the Chinese government, which ByteDance refutes.
Despite this, incoming President Trump appears opposed to the ban, hinting at intentions to overturn it. Should the ban proceed, parallels drawn with the US’s past actions against Chinese and Russian tech firms like Huawei and Kaspersky suggest a similar global trajectory for TikTok.
Emily Taylor, Editor of the Cyber Policy Journal, noted, “There are significant parallels indicating it’s only a matter of time until a creeping ban takes effect.”
Previously, the US barred Kaspersky’s antivirus software on accusations of Kremlin-linked hacking, with the UK and other allies soon implementing similar bans.
Over time, Kaspersky, maintaining that the US actions were politically motivated rather than risk-based, scaled back its operations in affected regions due to dwindling business viability.
Similarly, Huawei faced accusations of undue closeness to the Chinese government, with the US warning against using its 5G technology in telecommunications infrastructure over espionage fears.
This stance led to widespread restrictions among US allies, influenced by intense American lobbying on security grounds.
The ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance, comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, has already banned TikTok on government devices, with Canada terminating TikTok’s operations over national security concerns. Additional countries like Austria, Belgium, and France have followed suit with similar restrictions on government use.
Ciaran Martin, former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, noted that UK and allied responses typically align with US security decisions.
However, he acknowledged the uncertainty introduced by Trump’s changed stance on TikTok, contrasting his current opposition to the ban with his previous efforts to prohibit the app during his first term.
The unpredictability of Trump’s approach raises questions about whether TikTok might be an exception to past patterns of tech restrictions. As Emily Taylor remarked, much will depend on the Trump administration’s prioritisation of foreign policy issues.
Currently, the UK government has no immediate plans to ban TikTok, focusing instead on engagement with major social platforms to safeguard UK data and uphold stringent data protection and cybersecurity standards.
