According to internal documents, Britain's Parliament was prepared to defend itself against any backlash because of its links to China.
The legislative body abandoned a pilot using the video app after only a few days, following a letter from a group of lawmakers saying TikTok had been unable to assure them that the company could prevent data transfer to ByteDance, should the parent company make a request for it.
According to an internal document obtained by Insider, Parliament anticipated a hostile reaction to TikTok's links to China.
The document asked if the app was safe for parliamentary staffers' phones. This should be part of any media line once confirmed.
Parliament wouldn't say if the PSD had concluded it was safe.
According to the document obtained by Insider, other lines spokespeople can give to journalists are proposed.
"That we use social media to reach audiences where they are and that a notably different demographic uses TikTok compared to our followers on other platforms."
The document states that the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, has links to China, specifically mentioning the company that the UK banned from its 5G network due to security concerns.
The headquarters of ByteDance is in Beijing.
It has never said it would give user data to Chinese authorities.
The TikTok platform does not operate in China, and we have never given user data to the Chinese government, according to a TikTok spokesman.
Politicians in the UK use TikTok to reach millions of people.
TikTok would be happy to speak directly to the politicians who signed the letter to clarify the factual inaccuracies.
According to the documents obtained by Insider, Parliament considered opening a TikTok account in April 2021.
Parliament staff met with TikTok staff and asked if the handle that had been obtained by another user but had not been used could be given to them.
On February 21, 2022, a 13-page PowerPoint document was presented to staff showing examples of institutions that use TikTok.
The project picked up the pace after the internal discussions ended. A staff member asked if it was a development that they would be happy with.
According to the emails, security advice was offered, but it wasn't made public. One staff member wrote that TikTok is almost done.
The account was launched by parliament.
The account should be closed until credible assurances can be given that no data can be transferred to China.
The account was closed on August 1 after a flurry of emails.
On August 3, the speakers of both houses of Parliament wrote a joint letter to a lawmaker who protested.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
