Ministry of Defence: TikTok

(asked on 23rd February 2023) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his Department's policy to prohibit (a) civilian and (b) armed forces personnel from using the TikTok app on their (i) work electronic devices and (ii) personal electronic devices.


Answered by
Andrew Murrison Portrait
Andrew Murrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 28th February 2023

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not prohibit either civilian or military personnel from downloading the TikTok app on either work or personal electronic devices. However, MOD policy requires only official business to be conducted using MOD-managed devices. There are measures in place to ensure that any non-MOD apps downloaded on work devices cannot access MOD resources and vice versa.

The MOD’s policy as set out in Joint Service Publication 740 (Acceptable Use Policy for MOD’s fixed and mobile Information and Communication Technology and services) states that apps must not be downloaded onto work devices unless there is a justified business purpose for doing so. This policy is reviewed regularly.

The MOD takes the human dimension of cyber-security very seriously at all levels, whether that be at home, on deployment or in the workplace. The MOD has an ongoing cyber security awareness campaign, and regularly issues security reminders to all Units and staff.


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