https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/19/tiktok-users-posting-cat-videos-do-not-threaten-uk-national-security-minister-says [p] Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Close dialogue1/1Next imagePrevious imageToggle caption Skip to navigation Print subscriptions Newsletters Sign in US[ ] * US edition * UK edition * Australia edition * Europe edition * International edition The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian [ ] * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle Show moreHide expanded menu * [ ]News + View all News + US news + US politics + Trump inauguration + World news + Climate crisis + Middle East + Ukraine + Soccer + Business + Environment + Tech + Science + Newsletters + Wellness * [ ]Opinion + View all Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Letters + Opinion videos + Cartoons * [ ]Sport + View all Sport + Soccer + NFL + Tennis + MLB + MLS + NBA + WNBA + NHL + F1 + Golf * [ ]Culture + View all Culture + Film + Books + Music + Art & design + TV & radio + Stage + Classical + Games * [ ]Lifestyle + View all Lifestyle + Wellness + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Home & garden + Health & fitness + Family + Travel + Money * Search input [ ] google-search Search + Support us + Print subscriptions + Newsletters + Download the app * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Licensing + About Us + The Guardian app + Video + Podcasts + Pictures + Inside the Guardian + Guardian Weekly + Crosswords + Wordiply + Corrections * Search input [ ] google-search Search + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Licensing + About Us * UK * US politics * World * Climate crisis * Middle East * Ukraine * Football * Newsletters * Business * Environment * UK politics * Society * Science * Tech * Global development * Obituaries The TikTok app displaying a message that reads: 'Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!' [ ] TikTok stopped working in the US at the weekend before a federal ban comes into force. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters View image in fullscreen TikTok stopped working in the US at the weekend before a federal ban comes into force. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters TikTok TikTok users posting cat videos do not threaten UK national security, minister says Darren Jones defends decision to allow app to continue running in UK as it stops working in US ahead of national ban Kiran Stacey Political correspondent Sun 19 Jan 2025 08.26 ESTLast modified on Sun 19 Jan 2025 10.46 EST Share TikTok users posting videos of cats or dancing do not pose a security threat to the UK, a cabinet minister has said, as he defended the government's decision not to ban the Chinese-owned video platform. The government has allowed the app to continue running in Britain, as it stopped working in the US before a federal ban comes into force. Britain's approach to China threatens to be one of a number of sources of tension between Downing Street and the incoming Trump administration, with the UK looking for a rapprochement with Beijing while the US president-elect threatens further trade tariffs. Jones told the BBC on Sunday: "We always keep all of these technology issues under consideration, whether it's for national security or data privacy concerns - we have laws in place and processes to do that. How does the US Tiktok ban work? Read more "We have no plan from the UK, so we won't be following the same path that the Americans have followed, unless or until, at some point in the future there is a threat that we are concerned about in the British interest." He added: "There is a different approach on government devices [on which] we've not been allowed to use TikTok for many years. The last Conservative government took the same position because there's sensitive information on those devices, but for consumers who want to post videos of their cats or dancing, that doesn't seem like a national security threat to me." The government's position contrasts with that taken in the US, where TikTok stopped working this weekend ahead of a law that would force its parent company, ByteDance, either to sell it to a non-Chinese owner or shut it down entirely. TikTok has said it cannot be sold to another company and so chose to remove the app from app stores over the weekend. Trump has threatened to ramp up tariffs on China after taking office on Monday. His position on TikTok, however, has changed since he was last in office. Trump proposed a TikTok ban in 2020 but has recently promised to work with the company to find a political solution to the standoff, having found a large audience on the platform during the 2024 election campaign. He said on Saturday he would "most likely" grant the company a 90-day reprieve from the federal ban while he worked out what to do with it in the longer term. 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