Britain’s parliament on Wednesday closed its TikTok account, launched in a trial mode and aimed at reaching a young audience, following concerns expressed by several deputies about data security on the China-based company’s social network. .

“Following comments from members of parliament, we are closing the parliamentary TikTok pilot account earlier than planned,” a spokesperson for the agency said.

The account content, which was launched with the aim of reaching a young audience, has been removed.

Lawmakers sanctioned by Beijing for calling the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang “genocide” protested the opening of this account in a letter sent to speakers of both houses of parliament and disclosed by the website. Political.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, where the social network is not available.

“The prospect of the Xi Jinping regime having access to personal data on our children’s phones is a matter of great concern,” they wrote.

One of the people in charge of social networks in Europe, Theo Bertham, assured lawmakers last month that TikTok had “never” been asked to provide user data to the Chinese government and that the platform would refuse any such requests.

A company spokesperson expressed disappointment at the UK Parliament’s decision, noting that it missed the opportunity to connect “with the millions of users who use TikTok in the UK.”

He also repeated his proposal to “reassure members of Parliament who have expressed concerns and clarified any inaccuracies about our platform.”

AFP