TikTok is SAFE in Britain as ‘posting videos of cats’ does not threaten national security, Cabinet Minister says
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TIKTOK is safe in Britain for now because people “posting videos of their cats” is not a national security threat, a Cabinet Minister has said. Darren Jones today allayed fears the UK could follow the US in banning the popular doomscroll app. China critics have pressed the government to outlaw the Beijing-headquartered site amid possible spying and data harvesting concerns.
![[Smartphone displaying a TikTok error message stating the app is unavailable in the U.S. due to a law banning it.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image_cdbda0.png?strip=all&w=960)
Today millions of Americans were denied access to TikTok as their ban kicked in, although incoming President Donald Trump has suggested he could grant a 90-day reprieve. Mr Jones told the BBC that “national security or data privacy concerns” will be kept “under consideration”.
But the Treasury Chief Secretary added: “We have no plans right now to ban TikTok from the UK. "So, we won't be following the same path that the Americans have followed unless or until at some point in the future there is a threat that we are concerned about in the British interest.".
He added: "On Government devices, for example, we've not been allowed to use TikTok for many years, the last Conservative government took the same position because there's sensitive information on those devices. “But for consumers who want to post videos of their cats or dancing, that doesn't seem like a national security threat to me.".
Dame Priti Patel said the Tories were not currently pushing for a ban on TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. The Shadow Foreign Secretary said: “We have a very, very clear approach - not just from my party, but also in the UK - in terms of China and some of the national security, and, dare I say it, just the day-to-day security concerns that their platforms bring to our country.
