There are recent talks of the National Security Council (NSC) calling for the ban of TikTok in the Philippines, citing spying allegations from China. While countries like the US are pushing for the ban of TikTok at least in government offices, the DICT has second thoughts about the move.
In an interview with Philippine Star, DICT Sec. Ivan John Uy said that the NSC needs to conduct a proper investigation and study on TikTok’s tech first. One of the considerations that DICT factored in with the possible TikTok ban in the Philippines includes the thousands of Filipino MSMEs and affiliate marketers that use the social media platform to sell and market their products.
Uy added that the NSC should not single out TikTok, and that other social media platforms may have similar issues as well.
“If you would see, a lot of the social media platforms are abused. Used for disinformation, used for fake news. And so, we need to sit down and work with all our social media partners. See how we can properly address this growing concern,” Uy explained.
The restrictions on using TikTok varies per country: it is completely banned in India, Pakistan, Syria, and Afghanistan, while the US, UK, and Canada have banned TikTok on government-issued devices.
