China urged other governments to treat their companies fairly on Friday after Britain and New Zealand joined the United States in restricting the use of TikTok over concerns the Chinese-owned short-video service could is a security risk.
The government is worried the owner of TikTok, ByteDancemay provide browsing history or other data about users to the Chinese government or promote propaganda and misinformation.
“We urge relevant countries to recognize objective facts, respect the efficiency of the market economy,” and provide a “non-discriminatory environment,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. for all companies.
TikTok is one of the focus of the conflict between China and other governments on technology and security are disrupting processors, smartphones, and other industries.
Lawmakers and staff in the New Zealand Parliament will be banned from using the TikTok app on phones, the government said on Friday. Britain announced a ban on TikTok on Thursday on all government phones.
In February, the White House asked federal agencies to remove TikTok from government-issued mobile devices within 30 days. ConferenceThe US armed forces and more than half of US state governments ban their employees from using the app.
India has banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging service WeChat, for security and privacy reasons.
The United States has also imposed restrictions on Chinese companies’ access to chips and other technology for security and human rights reasons.
The Chinese government accuses Washington of spreading misinformation about TikTok following a report by The Wall Street Journal that US authorities are considering a ban if ByteDance doesn’t sell the company.
The ruling Communist Party blocks most internet users in China from viewing TikTok as well as thousands of other social media and websites. ByteDance operates a sister short video service, Douyin, which can be viewed in China.
