Denmark Joins TikTok Restrictions... China Says "Stop Pressuring Companies"

Following the United States, the European Union (EU), and Canada, Denmark has also moved to ban the use of the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok.

According to the Associated Press, on the 28th (local time), the Danish Parliament strongly recommended against using the TikTok app, a Chinese video-sharing platform. This measure was taken after Danish intelligence authorities determined that using TikTok could be exploited for espionage activities.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

This action is an extension of recent moves by Western countries, led by the West, to crack down on TikTok citing cybersecurity concerns. In the United States, following the passage of a bill in Congress last December that prohibits federal agency employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a directive the day before to all federal agencies to delete TikTok from all equipment and systems within 30 days.

The European Commission also announced on the 23rd that it would ban the use of TikTok on all portable devices registered with the Commission. Canada, Japan, and others have also issued policies banning the use of TikTok on government devices.

As Western pressure intensifies, China immediately pushed back.

Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing that "As the world's leading power, the United States' fear of an application popular among young people shows a lack of confidence," and "We oppose the United States' generalization of the concept of national security and its abuse of national power to unduly pressure companies from other countries."

He added, "The U.S. government should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition and stop unduly pressuring relevant companies," emphasizing that "it should provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory environment for the investment and management of companies from all countries in the United States."

TikTok also protested Canada's ban, stating, "The Canadian government has never contacted us even once to discuss this," and expressed disappointment with the Canadian government's decision.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.