The British Parliament has said it will no longer use its TikTok social media account over concerns about China's human rights record. AFP
The British Parliament has said it will no longer use its TikTok social media account over concerns about China's human rights record. AFP
The British Parliament has said it will no longer use its TikTok social media account over concerns about China's human rights record. AFP
The British Parliament has said it will no longer use its TikTok social media account over concerns about China's human rights record. AFP

UK Parliament closes TikTok account after MPs raise China concerns


Neil Murphy
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The UK Parliament's official TikTok account has been closed after MPs raised concerns about the social media platform’s Chinese links.

MPs' use of the popular app, owned by a Chinese parent company, had been an attempt to engage youngsters with the work of Parliament.

But the relationship between Westminster and Beijing has been severely strained since China imposed sanctions on seven MPs and peers.

The objections were led by a group of MPs sanctioned by Beijing for speaking out against alleged human rights abuse.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, one of under sanctions, welcomed the decision.

"We need to start talking to people about not using TikTok," he said.

Nus Ghani, a Conservative MP who was also a target of the Chinese sanctions, thanked the Speaker of the House of Commons for "standing up for our values" after the move.

A UK Parliament spokesman said: “Based on Member feedback, we are closing the pilot UK Parliament TikTok account earlier than we had planned.

“The account was a pilot initiative while we tested the platform as a way of reaching younger audiences with relevant content about Parliament.”

The account has been locked and its content has been deleted.

Followers of the account are met with an updated bio that reads: “This account is now closed. Find us at www.parliament.uk.”

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is based in China and MPs have raised concerns about user data being sent to Beijing.

In a letter to the Speakers of the Commons and Lords, seen by the Politico website, a group of MPs under sanctions imposed by the Beijing government for speaking out about human rights abuse complained about the TikTok account.

“The prospect of Xi Jinping’s government having access to personal data on our children’s phones ought to be a cause for major concern,” the letter said.

Theo Bertram, the app’s vice president for government relations and public policy in Europe, last month told MPs: “We have never been asked to provide TikTok user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if asked.”

TikTok does not operate in China and the app’s data is stored in the US and Singapore.

The firm has offered to meet any MP who wants to know more about the way users’ data is handled.

Mr Duncan Smith told the PA news agency: “We are pleased that Parliament, immediately they were told, understood there was a problem and shut it down.

“It’s important for others to look at that now and we need to start talking to people about not using TikTok.”

A TikTok spokeswoman said: “While it is disappointing that Parliament will no longer be able to connect with the millions of people who use TikTok in the UK, we reiterate the offer to reassure those Members of Parliament who raised concerns and clarify any inaccuracies about our platform.”

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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

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Updated: August 03, 2022, 4:58 PM