The European Commission announced today that it has decided to suspend the use of the TikTok application on the professional devices of its staff, with the aim of protecting the EU executive from cybersecurity threats.

The social network TikTok expressed its disappointment today with Brussels' decision to suspend the use of the application on its staff's professional devices, which it considered "wrong and based on fundamental misconceptions".

"We are disappointed by this decision, which we consider to be wrong and based on fundamental misconceptions" and "we have contacted the European Commission to clarify the situation and explain how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the European Union who use TikTok every month", said a spokesperson for the social network in a statement, quoted by Lusa.

"We have continuously improved our approach to data security, including establishing three data centers in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimizing data flows outside Europe," said the same source.

The decision was taken by the Commission's Institutional Management Board and, in addition to the professional devices of the Community executive's staff, also covers mobile devices within the institution.

Employees must uninstall the app from their work devices by March 15 at the latest, a spokesperson said today.

"This measure aims to protect the Commission from cyber-security threats and actions that could be exploited for cyber-attacks against the Commission's business environment. Security developments on other social media platforms will also be kept under constant review," Brussels announced.

The decision regarding China's TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, comes after the United States banned the application of federal devices in the country.

According to the Commission, which rejects having given in to pressure from the United States to ban this Chinese social networking platform, "this measure is in line with the Commission's strict internal cybersecurity policies regarding the use of mobile devices for work-related communications" and "complements the Commission's long-standing advice to its staff to apply best practices when using social networking platforms and to remain aware of cyberspace in their daily work".

"The Commission is committed to ensuring that its staff is well protected against the increase in cyber threats and computer incidents. It is therefore our responsibility to respond as quickly as possible to potential cyber alerts," points out the EU executive, concluding that "this suspension is the result of an internal institutional decision which is strictly limited to the use of devices registered with the Commission services."