The UK Parliament’s short-lived TikTok account has been shut down after backlash from MPs over the social media firm’s links to China.
The account was set up on the popular app, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, as a way to engage young people in politics.
But tensions between Beijing and the West have been rising in recent years, with Westminster banning Chinese firm Huawei from joining the UK’s 5G network.
China has sanctioned seven lawmakers and allies who have criticized Beijing over its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority group – in what China has described as ‘malicious lies’.
The account, which went live on July 27, has been locked and its content deleted less than a week later.
A spokesperson for the UK Parliament said: ‘Based on feedback from members, we are closing the pilot UK Parliament TikTok account earlier than we had planned.
‘The account was a pilot initiative as we tested the platform as a way to reach a younger audience with relevant content about Parliament.’
The UK Parliament TikTok app has been locked and deleted just a week after it was set up due to concerns about the app’s links to Chinese.

A letter signed by senior Tory MPs calling for the account to be closed
Followers of the account have come across an updated bio that reads: ‘This account is now closed. Find us at www.parliament.uk.’
ByteDance is based in China and lawmakers have raised concerns about user data being sent to Beijing.
In a letter to the Speaker of the Commons and Lords, seen by the Politico website, a group of senior Tory MPs – including Tom Tugendhat, Nuss Ghani and Iain Duncan Smith – who have been sanctioned by the Beijing government for speaking out about human rights abuses. – Complained about TikTok account.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the decision to close the account after signing a letter calling for it to be deleted, as did Tom Tugendhat and Nuss Ghani.
“The prospect of Xi Jinping’s government gaining access to personal data on our children’s phones should be cause for great concern,” the letter said.
Theo Bertram, the app’s vice-president for government relations and public policy in Europe, told MPs in July that ‘we have never been asked to hand over TikTok user data to the Chinese government and we will not.’
TikTok confirmed that it wrote the letter to signatory subscribers to help them understand the data protection process and to reassure them that data is stored in the US and Singapore.
A TikTok spokesperson said: ‘Whilst it is disappointing that Parliament will no longer be able to engage with the millions of people who use TikTok in the UK, we reiterate the offer to reassure MPs who have raised concerns and clarified any impropriety to us. platform.’
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the decision to close the TikTok account following pressure from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.
He said: ‘We are delighted that Parliament, he was told immediately, realized there was a problem and closed it.
‘It’s important that others see it now and we need to talk to people about not using TikTok.’
Just last month, the UK called for a ban on two Chinese CCTV cameras that can recognize faces, listen to conversations and judge a person’s mood.
A group of 67 MPs and Lords, including Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, urged the government to ban the sale and use of Kikvision and Dahua cameras.
Concerns over the privacy of UK TikTok users have escalated following the outbreak of hostilities between Huawei and Hong Kong following the UK government’s decision to ban the Chinese telecom company from 5G networks over security fears.
Telecom companies were barred from buying Huawei 5G, while all of the firm’s existing 5G technology is slated to be phased out of the network by the end of 2027.
This further soured relations between the UK and China, raising already tense tensions as Beijing succeeded in forcing Hong Kong under sweeping security laws under its control.
And the most recent tension comes over Taiwan independence. China is staking its claim on Taiwan as the UK seeks to support the democratically-run island along with the US.
Beijing has repeatedly warned against US Democrat Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan but after she did, urged Britain not to follow in her footsteps.
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