National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said that a total ban on TikTok in the Philippines is possible if the social media platform is proven to be used by China for espionage and cyberattacks.
‘Because these apps came from China, there is a huge possibility that they are acquiring data and the private details of their subscribers,” Año said in a statement.
Año said that he would not hesitate to recommend a total ban on TikTok—one of the most popular social media platforms in the world–should there be sufficient evidence that China uses the app for cyberattacks against the Philippines.
“We are not yet saying that TikTok will be banned in the Philippines. We will first go to governments and offices involved in security matters. If we see any other development, we will adjust,” Año said.
Año also said that he instructed the task force headed by Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya to speed up its investigation of TikTok over possible data breaches.
Año emphasized that the National Security Council continued to assess the app to guarantee the protection of Filipino subscribers and the government system.
“We assigned Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya to submit a report on how we will draft this memo or policy to guarantee the protection of our data, our digital system, because the recent hackings are troubling,” he said.
“Our PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority), PhilHealth, were hacked, so we need to prepare for it,” he added.
Reports said the NSC had studied the possibility of banning TikTok among the government’s uniformed personnel to avoid a possible data leak.
The social media platform continues to be very popular in the country. One industry report said as of January 2023, the Philippines has about 43 million TikTok users.
Several countries, such as the United States, India, and Canada have announced moves to ban the Chinese company-owned TikTok on government phones and prohibit its use by state workers, due to concerns that the application might give sensitive data to the Chinese government.
Reports said Indonesia has earlier set a one-week deadline for TikTok to become a standalone app without any e-commerce features. Jakarta has reportedly justified the ban on TikTok as “necessary” to protect the country’s 64 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The European Commission, European Parliament, and EU Council have also reportedly banned TikTok from being used on official devices of parliamentarians and their staff due to security concerns.
TikTok has denied all allegations that the social media platform is being used to gather sensitive data.