BBC warned to ‘reconsider’ its focus on sharing stories on TikTok

The BBC should ‘reconsider’ its focus on sharing stories on TikTok over China spying fears.

BBC News boss Deborah Turness has told staff that increasing the corporation’s presence on the social media platform is a priority for this year.

But senior Tory MPs have raised concerns with BBC journalists using the app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Daily Telegraph: ‘TikTok is seen by security experts as part of the Chinese security apparatus.

‘As a data harvester that has to, by law, cooperate on all aspects of their work with the Chinese security services, it strikes me as strange that it is seen as a reliable and secure partner for the BBC.’

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, pictured, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘TikTok is seen by security experts as part of the Chinese security apparatus’ (stock image)

Alicia Kearns, foreign affairs committee chairman, added: ‘The BBC should be assisting in educating the public about the need to protect their data and the vulnerabilities of the site.’

TikTok can harvest user data on the app, and is obliged to give the Chinese state assistance in areas of national security if asked. However, the company has repeatedly denied sharing any data.

Last week, the European Commission banned staff from using the app, six months after the UK Parliament account was shut down. 

A recent YouGov poll found that 55 per cent of adults think TikTok should be banned on UK Government devices.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘BBC journalism remains independent and free to report impartially on the social media platforms on which we post content.

‘With all third-party platforms, we take all necessary security measures and regularly review our data and security policies and processes.’ TikTok has routinely denied allegations that it shares user data with the Chinese Government.