Telecom firm Telia is prohibiting its employees from using the China-based social media platform TikTok on company devices, according to a Telia press release.
The new rules will go into effect at the end of this month, affecting its operations in Finland and six other countries in which it operates.
The Swedish company based its decision on data security concerns related to the social media platform that have been raised by authorities, according to the firm's quality and security management chief in Finland, Kalle Kaasalainen.
"Telia's networks are a key part of the critical, national infrastructure, which is why, based on careful evaluation, we ended up banning the use of the application on work devices," he said in a press release.
According to Kaasalainen, TikTok demands a broad range of data from its users, a situation that could threaten Telia's corporate security.
"We are a security service company and have a special duty to protect our customers' connections and data from possible abuse. In Finland, many authorities have reached the same solution, that is, they have banned the use of the application on staff work devices," Kaasalainen said in the release.
The ban will affect a total of around 20,000 Telia employees across seven countries.
However, the company said it is not preventing its workers from using TikTok on their personal devices and that it plans to continue marketing Telia products and services on the social media platform.
"TikTok is a very popular application and of course we want to be where Finns spend their time. In future, we will handle [the company's] maintenance of the channel with special arrangements. Of course, our own employees can use the application on their own phones," Kaasalainen said.
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