South Yorkshire fire service bans staff from using TikTok

South Yorkshire's fire service has banned TikTok from corporate devices

South Yorkshire's fire service has banned Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from its corporate devices.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFRS) said it was following the UK government in preventing access due to security concerns.

Ministers were banned from using the app on work devices last month due to fears sensitive data could be obtained by the Chinese government.

TikTok has strongly denied its app posed a security risk.

The SYFRS account on TikTok has almost 152,000 followers and a video in support of the LGBT+ community for Pride month went viral last year.

But Steven Locking, the fire service's IT manager, said: "We were very aware of the government's policy and we have adopted the same government policy for ourselves, so TikTok is banned from all corporate devices in South Yorkshire now."

He told a meeting of the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority that no fire service applications or systems could access TikTok and staff who wanted to use the app would have to do so on personal devices.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service will not be able to access the app on corporate devices

The Cabinet Office announced last month the app would be banned on all on government electronic devices as a "precautionary" move following a security review.

The UK's Parliament later blocked access to TikTok on any devices connected to its network.

The Chinese company has called the bans "misguided" and "based on fundamental misconceptions about our company", insisting it did not share user data with China's government.

TikTok, which has exploded in popularity in recent years, gathers information on users including their age, location, device and even their typing rhythms. Its cookies also track user activity elsewhere on the internet.

US-based social media sites also do this, but TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has faced claims of being influenced by Beijing.

The Chinese embassy in London said restrictions on use of the app were motivated by politics "rather than facts".