TikTok has found itself in the crosshairs of authorities in the United States of America (US), where a new law threatens to ban the app nationwide unless its parent company, ByteDance of China, sells it.
It would be the biggest blow yet to the popular video sharing app, which has faced various restrictions around the world.
TikTok has already been banned in several countries, while in others it has been banned from government-issued devices for use by officials, amid concerns that the app poses a privacy and cybersecurity risk.
Those fears are reflected in the US law, which is the culmination of long-standing fears by the two main US parties that China's communist leaders could force ByteDance to hand over user data to the US or influence Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content.
TikTok has long maintained that it does not share data with the Chinese government, and TikTok's CEO has taken a defiant stance, vowing to fight the ban.
List of countries where TikTok is partially or completely banned:
Afghanistan
TikTok has been banned from 2022, along with the video game PUBG, as the Taliban leadership decided to ban access to the programs to protect young people from "being misled".
Australija
TikTok is not allowed on devices issued by the Australian Federal Government. State Attorney Mark Dreyfus said he made the decision after receiving advice from the country's intelligence and security agencies.
Belgija
The National Security Council decided last month to indefinitely ban TikTok on devices owned or paid for by the federal government. The ban was temporarily imposed last year due to concerns about cybersecurity, privacy and misinformation. Prime Minister Aleksandar de Cro said that this was based on warnings from the National Security Service and the Center for Cyber Security.
Canada
TikTok is prohibited on federally issued devices. Officials cited an "unacceptable" risk to privacy and security and said the app would be removed from devices and that employees would be blocked from downloading it.
China
TikTok has never been available in mainland China, as its CEO Zhou Chu mentioned in testimony before the US Congress. BytDens offers users in China Doujin, a similar video-sharing app that follows Beijing's strict censorship rules. TikTok also ceased operations in Hong Kong as China's strict national security law came into force.
Danish
Denmark's Ministry of Defense has banned its employees from having TikTok on their official phones, ordering staff who installed it to remove the app from their devices as soon as possible. The ministry said the reasons for the ban included "serious security considerations" as well as "a very limited need for work-related use of the app".
European Union
The European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU, the three main institutions of the 27-member Union, have banned TikTok from staff devices. Under the European Parliament ban, MPs and staff have also been advised to remove the TikTok app from their personal devices.
Francuska
The "recreational" use of TikTok and other social media apps like Iks and Instagram on government employees' phones has been banned over concerns about insufficient data security measures. The French government did not name specific apps, but indicated that the decision came after other governments took measures targeting TikTok.
Indija
India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps such as messaging app WeChat in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. The ban came soon after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on the disputed border in the Himalayas left 20 Indian soldiers dead and dozens injured. The companies were given a chance to respond to questions about privacy and security requirements, but the ban became permanent in 2021.
Indonezija
TikTok has not been banned entirely in the large and populous Southeast Asian country, but only its sales function, after authorities clamped down on e-commerce transactions on the social network in an attempt to protect small businesses.
Latvia
Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevičs stated on the X network that he had deleted his TikTok account and that the app had also been banned from the phones of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.
Netherlands
The Dutch central government has banned apps, including TikTok, from employees' official phones, citing data security concerns. The government statement did not name TikTok specifically, but said civil servants are discouraged from installing and using apps "from countries with an offensive cyber program against the Netherlands and/or Dutch interests" on their mobile devices for work.
Nepal
The Himalayan country has imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok, saying it disrupts "social harmony" and goodwill with accusations that it allows "the flow of obscene material". Authorities have ordered the telecommunications company to block access to the app.
Novi Zeland
New Zealand MPs and national parliament staff have been banned from having TikTok on their official phones, government cyber security experts have advised. That app has been removed from all devices with access to the parliamentary network, although special arrangements can be made for anyone who needs TikTok to carry out their democratic duties.
Norveška
Norway's parliament banned TikTok from official devices after the country's Justice Ministry warned that the app should not be installed on phones issued to government employees. The speaker of parliament said that TikTok should not be on devices that have access to the assembly's systems and should be removed as soon as possible. The country's capital Oslo and second-largest city Bergen have also urged city officials to remove TikTok from their official phones.
Pakistan
Pakistani authorities have temporarily banned TikTok at least four times since 2020, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral content.
Somalia
The government ordered telecommunications companies to block access to TikTok, along with messaging app Telegram and gambling platform 1XBET. Officials said they were concerned that the platforms could spread extremist content, nude images and other material considered offensive to Somali culture and Islam.
Tajvan
Taiwan has banned TikTok in the public sector after the FBI warned that the app posed a national security risk. State-owned devices, including mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers, are not allowed to run Chinese-made software, which includes apps such as TikTok, its Chinese equivalent Doujin, or the Chinese lifestyle app Xiaohongshu.
Great Britain
British authorities have banned TikTok from mobile phones used by ministers and civil servants. Officials said the ban was a "precautionary move" for security reasons and did not apply to personal devices. The British Parliament then banned TikTok from all official devices and the "wider parliamentary network". The semi-autonomous Scottish Government and London City Hall have also banned TikTok from employees' devices. The BBC has urged employees to delete TikTok from corporate devices unless they are using it for editorial and marketing purposes.
SAD
US authorities have ordered government agencies to delete TikTok from federal devices and systems due to data security concerns. More than half of the 50 states, Congress and the US military have also banned the app from official devices. Montana's attempt at a statewide ban failed, as did a proposal in Virginia to block children from using it.
Bonus video:
