As controversies continue to swell around the Chinese social media platform TikTok, parliament advised its members and employees against using it in light of the uncertainties around the use of data, parliament warned in a press release published Tuesday.

“The Folketing is taking note of the assessments made by the security authorities. According to the Danish Centre for Cyber Security, there is a risk of espionage when using TikTok, so we are adapting accordingly.”, the press release reads.

“We are following the line that the Centre takes towards state institutions”, said Parliament Speaker Søren Gade.

The announcement came after the Danish Centre for Cyber Security (CFCS) last week advised state employees against having the TikTok app installed on official devices, including mobile phones.

Recently, several countries and institutions have taken various steps to restrict the use of TikTok. On Monday, the US government gave its federal employees 30 days to delete TikTok.

Furthermore, EURACTIV exclusively revealed last week that the European Commission has also banned its members from using the Chinese-developed app.

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, suspected of passing information to the Beijing regime.

According to a spokesperson, the company itself believes the decision is based on “fundamental misunderstandings, ” echoing TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew, who met with top EU officials last month, saying that the company had a long way to go to regain their trust.

Last November, TikTok admitted that users’ personal data worldwide could be accessed in the Chinese headquarters. The admission followed revelations from Forbes that the app was being used to spy on journalists.

Although no European government has followed the US example, Dutch officials were reportedly advised against using the Chinese app.

(Charles Szumski | EURACTIV.com)