IDA staff told to remove client company TikTok's app from phones

A spokesperson for IDA Ireland said that although TikTok was an IDA Ireland client company, 'compliance with laws and regulations is a matter for the company and the relevant regulatory authorities charged with ensuring their compliance'.

The State's foreign investment agency has told staff to remove TikTok from work phones, despite the social media platform being a client company.

As a State agency, IDA Ireland has confirmed that it will be following the advice issued by the National Cyber Security Centre last week that public servants should delete the video-sharing app from devices over fears that the data contained could be sent to the Chinese government.

The decision came after weeks of scrutiny around the app's processing of data and following bans on the use of the app on government devices by EU institutions and governments across the world.

Speaking on Friday, National Cyber Security Centre director Richard Browne said there was no certainty about whether data is sent back to China but the risk remains.

“The issue here is not what we know to be happening. The issue here is rather what we can’t rule out is happening,” he said.

A spokesperson for IDA Ireland said that it had heeded the advice, but said that the company's governance was a matter for relevant authorities.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

“IDA Ireland has been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre that TikTok should not be installed or used on the official devices of government departments or agencies under their aegis.

“On foot of this advice, IDA Ireland has requested its staff to remove the TikTok app from all IDA-issued devices.

TikTok, as an IDA Ireland client company, is a significant employer in Ireland’s tech eco system providing over 3,000 jobs.

“As with all IDA Ireland clients, compliance with laws and regulations is a matter for the company and the relevant regulatory authorities charged with ensuring their compliance.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government had no choice but to follow the advice, though the fact that TikTok is a large employer here should be “recognised”.

“It is something that can be reversed,” he said.

Last June, TikTok announced 1,000 new jobs alongside then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin and a press release from IDA Ireland quotes Mr Varadkar as saying that “TikTok’s growth since coming to Ireland has been truly incredible”.

TikTok has said that the decision by the NCSC was based on “fundamental misconceptions” and that it stores European data in Europe.