France bans TikTok and Candy Crush from government phones

No wonder another country has banned TikTok from government phones, but France is going one step further. Le Monde reports that the French government is banning "entertainment" apps such as TikTok, Twitter, Netflix and Candy Crush from the devices of government employees. Public Service Minister Stanislav Gherini's office said these apps pose cybersecurity risks that could compromise the data of employees and managers.

The government does not provide a detailed list of banned programs. However, Guarini said he was sure there could be some exceptions due to the need to communicate. This does not prevent the social media team from posting content. Greaney's office said the ban would take effect immediately, but penalties for violators could be determined "at the management level." This approach does not affect personal devices.

The crackdown comes after the US federal government, dozens of states, Canada, the European Commission, and the United Kingdom banned TikTok on employee devices. In both cases, the reasons are the same. Officials fear the Chinese government could collect key people's data, air ads, and force ByteDance (TikTok's parent company) to release sensitive information.

TikTok has repeatedly denied cooperating with the Chinese government. Speaking before a House committee yesterday, CEO Shou Chu said that ByteDance is "not an agent of China" and that US user data will not be available to employees in other countries until the end of the migration plan this year.

However, French policy is not aimed at a specific country or program category. Instead, it's a common concern that entertainment apps may put government data at unnecessary risk. Not very attractive to employees who want to watch Netflix over lunch, but reassuring for politicians worried about employees accidentally leaking information about their social media accounts.