The government should “seriously consider” banning the use of the Chinese social media app TikTok for security officials, Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council (NSC) said.
Malaya said several countries–including the United States and New Zealand–earlier banned TikTok on government-issued devices over concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can use the social media app for spying or propaganda.
“We should seriously consider for the security sector alone, not for the civilian agencies of government,” Malaya said in a news forum in Quezon City.
The official however clarified that the NSC has yet to conduct a full study on whether or not TikTok in the Philippines is being used for propaganda, amid the continuing tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
Malaya said the NSC will need to study this very carefully based on “national security considerations,” adding that the NSC will also work with the National Security Adviser if it will be proper for the Philippines to take this step.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar earlier said the AFP had already “initiated professional measures so that the AFP can be insulated from the spyware in these kinds of applications.”
Quote by reports, Aguilar said the AFP already has a policy on the use of social media platforms to make sure the security of the organization is not exposed or compromised and the credibility of the military is also not compromised.
There are certain instances in military camps where officials and visitors are required to surrender their mobile devices, while there are also areas where the recording of footage is prohibited, he added.
The European Commission and Canada had also banned the use of TikTok in its devices, but the social media giant has repeatedly denied accusations that it shares data to the Chinese government, reports said.
Its parent company ByteDance, however, had admitted that its China-based employees had accessed Americans’ data but rejected allegations that information was being turned over to authorities.
In January 2023, TikTok was the third most used social media app in the Philippines, according to an industry study from Meltwater.