Following in the footsteps of the United States, Canada and European countries, the UK also banned the Chinese “Tik Tok” app in government agencies with immediate effect. In the wake of the “sensitive information” leak scare.

“We will be banning the use of TikTok in government agencies,” Oliver Dowden, the minister of state for cyber security, told parliament “with immediate effect.”

Critics of TikTok, which allows the sharing of short videos and is hugely popular with young people, accuse the app of giving Chinese authorities access to user data around the world, which the app denies.

The British minister said it was about a “preventive” measure, saying, “We know the use of TikTok is already limited within government, but it’s good electronic health … given the special risks associated with government agencies. It may contain sensitive information, and it’s sensible and limiting the use of certain apps.” appropriate.

The approach comes after similar bans taken by the US, Canada and the EU, confirmed by Oliver Dowden.

China has urged the US to stop “unprovoked attacks” on TikTok, with the US government asking Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its stake in the app or face a ban on national security grounds.

Chinese “Foreign Ministry” spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Wednesday that Washington “has yet to provide evidence that (TikTok) threatens US national security.”