Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) personnel are banned from consuming the popular short video format app TikTok over cybersecurity concerns, according to an AFP spokesperson.
Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said soldiers should not open or use the app in any capacity on personal or government devices. She went on to say how the app has “cyber-security implications” and how “TikTok is not being used in China despite being developed in China.”
Padilla also said the app has listening abilities. She pointed out how, when you download the app, you give it “certain permissions such as the use of your camera and microphone,” and used the example of how ads related to real-life conversations would pop up on cell phones.
Despite announcing it, the ban has been in effect for months but has not been publicly announced until now.
Padilla also said this decision has nothing to do with the current tensions between the Philippines and China.
