Washington (CNN) — Britain banned the use of TikTok on official government devices on Thursday, following similar restrictions imposed by its allies in Canada, the European Union and the United States.

The social media app is not widely used by British officials, according to the government announcement, but the move reflects concerns about TikTok’s ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance, and the possibility that the Chinese government could pressure the company to hand over its users. ‘ personal information.

“This is a proportionate measure based on the specific risks to the government apparatus,” British Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden told lawmakers on Thursday.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company said it was voluntarily working to address security concerns by taking technical and bureaucratic measures to isolate US and EU user data from its global operations. It also stated that it had not received any requests from the Chinese government regarding user information and would reject such requests.

The UK announcement came a day after TikTok said the US government had asked the company’s Chinese owners to sell their shares or risk a ban.

In December, President Joe Biden signed a law banning TikTok on federal government devices, joining more than half of US states.

US lawmakers have proposed expanding the Biden administration’s authority to impose a nationwide ban on TikTok. A bipartisan group of senators this month introduced legislation that would give the Commerce Department latitude to review and ban technology linked to foreign adversaries, a proposal that was quickly welcomed by the White House.