Police “performers” on social media rejoice! Cops can still use TikTok on their phones as long as the videos “do not degrade” the Philippine National Police, Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said Tuesday.
Acorda said while the military already has a policy banning TikTok use for official phones, he said the PNP has yet to come up with its own directive.
“With regards to using TikTok privately, our personnel, as long as it’s not degrading our uniform, there is no problem,” Acorda said.
Earlier, military spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said TikTok and other free apps ask users for access to phone features like camera, microphone, and messages even though their services have nothing to do with these.
“Not just Tiktok, but the free apps that we have in our gadgets, they have the capability to turn on our microphones, to look at us and watch us while we sleep and turn on our cameras, access our SMS sent messages to our contacts because we gave them permission when we downloaded these applications,” she said.
In September, the National Security Council said it is studying the possibility of banning TikTok among uniformed personnel to avoid possible “data leak.”
Several countries, such as the United States, India, and Canada, have announced moves to ban the Chinese company-owned TikTok on government phones and state workers amid concerns that the application might give sensitive data to the Chinese government.