World News | China calls for fair treatment after latest TikTok ban

BEIJING, March 17 (AP) China called on other governments on Friday to treat its companies fairly, amid concerns that the Chinese-owned short video service could pose a security risk, after Britain and New Zealand joined the United States in restricting the use of TikTok.

Governments are concerned that ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, could provide the Chinese government with browsing history or other data about users, or for propaganda and disinformation campaigns.

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Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “We call on the countries concerned to recognize the objective facts, earnestly respect the market economy” and provide a “non-discriminatory environment” for all companies.

TikTok is one of the focal points of a clash between China and other governments over technology and security that are disrupting processor chips, smartphones and other industries.

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Lawmakers and employees of New Zealand’s parliament will be banned from installing the TikTok app on their phones, the government said on Friday. Britain on Thursday announced a ban on TikTok on all government phones.

In February, the White House gave federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from government-issued mobile devices. Congress, the U.S. Armed Forces and more than half of U.S. state governments have banned their employees from using the app.

India has banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the WeChat messaging service, over security and privacy concerns.

The U.S. has also restricted Chinese companies’ access to processor chips and other technology on security and human rights grounds.

The Chinese government accused Washington of spreading disinformation about TikTok after The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. authorities were considering a ban if ByteDance did not sell the company.

The ruling Communist Party has banned most internet users in China from accessing TikTok and thousands of social media and other sites. ByteDance operates a sister short-video service, Douyin, which can be seen in China. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)