UK Parliament SHUTS DOWN its TikTok account after concern from MPs about the social media firm’s links to China

• The TikTok account was set up to engage young people with politics  
• It lasted just a week after backlash from MPs over the app’s links to China
• MPs sanctioned by the Beijing government for speaking out on human rights abuse complained about the account to the Speaker of the Commons and Lords 

The short-lived UK Parliament TikTok account has been closed after backlash from MPs about the social media firm’s links to China. 

The account was set up on the popular app, owned by Chinese parent firm ByteDance, as a way of engaging young people with politics. 

But tensions have been rising between Beijing and the West in recent years with Westminster banning Chinese firm Huawei from involvement in the UK’s 5G network.

China has also sanctioned seven MPs and peers who have criticised Beijing over its treament of the Uighur Muslim minority group – claims China has described as ‘malicious lies’.

The account, which went live on July 27, has been locked and its content has been deleted less than a week on. 

A UK Parliament spokesman said: ‘Based on Member feedback, we are closing the pilot UK Parliament TikTok account earlier than we had planned.

‘The account was a pilot initiative while we tested the platform as a way of reaching younger audiences with relevant content about Parliament.’

The UK Parliament TikTok app has been locked and deleted just a week after being set up over concerns about the app’s links to the Chinese

A letter signed by senior Tory MPs who called for the account to be closed

Followers of the account are met with an updated bio that reads: ‘This account is now closed. Find us at www.parliament.uk.’

ByteDance is based in China and MPs have raised concerns about user data being sent to Beijing.

In a letter to the Speakers of the Commons and Lords, seen by the Politico website, a group of senior Tory MPs including Tom Tugendhat, Nus Ghani and Iain Duncan Smith – who have been sanctioned by the Beijing government for speaking out about human rights abuse – complained about the TikTok account.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the decision to close the account after he signed the letter calling for it to be deleted, as did Tom Tugendhat and Nus Ghani

‘The prospect of Xi Jinping’s government having access to personal data on our children’s phones ought to be a cause for major concern,’ the letter said.

Theo Bertram, the app’s vice president for government relations and public policy in Europe, told MPs in July ‘we have never been asked to provide TikTok user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if asked’.

TikTok confirmed that they had written to the members that had signed the letter to help them understand the data protection process, and reassure them that the data is stored in the US and Singapore. 

A TikTok spokesperson said: ‘While it is disappointing that Parliament will no longer be able to connect with the millions of people who use TikTok in the UK, we reiterate the offer to reassure those Members of Parliament who raised concerns and clarify any inaccuracies about our platform.’ 

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the decision to close the TikTok account, which followed pressure from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

He said: ‘We are pleased that Parliament, immediately they were told, understood there was a problem and shut it down.

‘It’s important for others to look at that now and we need to start talking to people about not using TikTok.’

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