How Many Countries Have Banned TikTok? (2024 Data)

Multiple private businesses and government agencies have restricted or are planning to restrict the usage of Tiktok in the public or governmental sectors. 

Considering the ownership of the app that belongs to China’s company ByteDance and security reasons, 23 countries have banned TikTok globally as of 2024.

Let’s explore all the countries that have banned TikTok. We’ll also discuss on what grounds the app was banned and if there is any hope for it in the future.

Here is a quick overview of the countries that have banned TikTok:

Sage Reads: For more compressive details check our post on Tiktok stat and trends.

Why are countries banning TikTok?

Most of the reasons for these bans are data security, the spread of misinformation, and the effect on mental health.

TikTok tracks your direct messages’ contents, country location, internet address, and device type. When you consent, the platform can also collect your exact location, contacts, age, and phone number.

Though every other app gathers this data or even more from the users, the main concern is where this data is stored.

TikTok’s user data was observed to be collected and stored on the servers located in its home country, China, which raised alarms for other countries regarding national safety.

TikTok originating from China, has always been in the headlines regarding user data safety.

The platform has been alleged to sell user data to the Chinese government, and many countries took this as a national threat and decided to ban TikTok promptly.

TikTok is also known to spread and promote addictive or inappropriate content that does not align well with some countries’ values. In addition, the platform also had content that was not so safe for children and has affected the mental health of people drastically.

1. Nepal

Nepal is the latest country to ban TikTok across the country. The ban came into effect in 2023

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said the app ban was necessary in order to manage the use of social media platforms since TikTok was seen disrupting social harmony goodwill and the flow of indecent materials.

2. Somalia

Somalia banned TikTok in August 2023, along with other social media and online betting apps.

TikTok was banned in Somalia because of the explicit content and violent extremism going around the app.

The ban has affected the young creators in Somalia since they considered Tiktok a source of income.

3. Ireland

On 21st April 2023, the cybersecurity center in Ireland issued a policy that the official public sector devices. The official said that they are cornered about how the data will be used and how it may be transmitted. 

4. United States

At least 34 of the 50 states have announced or enforced restrictions on state government agencies, staff, and employees using TikTok on government-issued devices as of April 2023.

State bans only apply to government personnel and do not prevent people from downloading or using the app on their personal devices.

5. Australia

68 Australian federal agencies banned TikTok on 7th March 2023 on all work-related phones. 

James Paterson (Liberal Party Senator) proposed the TikTok ban on all government-related devices. 

South Wales was reported to be the first state to impose a ban on TikTok on 14 March 2023. After three days, it was followed by Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. 

6. France

France’s government banned all social media and recreational apps on the mobile phones of all government workers, numbered 2.5 million civil servants. 

This step was taken in March 2023 to ensure and tighten the cyber security of the country and the civil servants. 

7. Estonia

On 29 March 2023, the TikTok App was banned on all the central devices in Estonia. The minister of IT and Foreign Trade, Kristjan Järvan, announced that they won’t be looking into the citizens’ activity on their personal devices using the app.

8. United Kingdom

In March 2023, the UK government banned the usage of TikTok on the electronic devices of ministers and other government employees due to security concerns about handling their personal data.

In the same month, BBC also ordered its employees to delete their TikTok accounts.

9. Belgium

In March 2023, Belgium took a step to ban TikTok from all the federal work devices of employees working in the government sector or with the government. This action ensured cyber security and privacy and avoided spreading misinformation through the app.

10. Norway

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr decided to restrict TikTok from all the work phones and tablets used by ministers, political advisors, and secretaries. This ban was imposed in March 2023 on advice received from the National Security Authority. 

11. Denmark

The Ministry of Defence took the initiative to block TikTok on all the work devices of government officials in Denmark on March 29, 2023. This was done to maintain and tighten the country’s security and avoid any loopholes in the cybersecurity of the officials.

12. Latvia 

The Latvian government banned TikTok on the work mobiles of government employees.

This ban was imposed in March 2023 by the Latvian Ministry of Affairs, citing the security reasons for the confidential information. 

13. Afghanistan

In April 2022, the Taliban government banned TikTok for ‘misleading the younger generation.’ A spokesperson further added that the platform’s content did not fit the Islamic laws. 

14. New Zealand

On 7 March 2023, TikTok was banned in New Zealand for cyber security reasons. The New Zealand Parliamentary banned the app reflecting on the advice from the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), the country’s signals intelligence agency.

15. Jordan

On 17th December 2022, a temporary ban was announced by the Jordanian government in response to the death of a police officer while clashing with the protesters. 

The platform’s misuse and unwillingness to handle posts advocating violence and disruption was one major reason for the ban.

16. Netherlands

In November 2022, government officials were restricted from using TikTok until it adjusted its data protection policy. The Ministry of General Affairs advised the ban for the safety of users from any kind of data breach.

17. Taiwan

Taiwan banned TikTok from the devices of public sector workers to strengthen their security. 

After the FBI’s warning about TikTok posing as a national threat, this ban in 2022 was made over the government’s concern about the Chinese government conducting cognitive welfare against Taiwan.

18. Bangladesh

In August 2021, Bangladesh banned apps like TikTok, Pubg, and FreeFire on a high court order. 

It labeled these apps as ‘dangerous and harmful’ and claimed that children must be saved from moral and social degradation. 

In 2018, Bangladesh restricted the TikTok app’s internet access as a part of its movement for the removal of pornography and gambling sites.

19. Pakistan

In the past 15 months, from October 2020 to November 2021, Pakistan imposed 4 bans on TikTok and lifted them again. These bans were due to the inappropriate content posted on the platform. 

The following table displays the ban, its reason, and the removal of the ban. 

20. Armenia

In October 2020, the TikTok app was reported to lose functionality. 

However, the reason for this loss of function is supposed to be the interference of the Armenian government in response to the Azerbaijani government spreading misinformation related to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

21. Azerbaijan

On 27th September 2020, Azerbaijan residents noticed restricted services on applications like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

According to the government, the imposition of these bans was due to the unethical provocation by Armenia during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In addition, the ban was enforced to prevent users from spreading unverified, false, and unofficial information.

22. India

On 17 April, TikTok was removed from both Apple and Google app stores, citing that it encouraged pornography and inappropriate behavior. However, the ban was removed on 25th April after the app removed more than 6 million videos that violated the content guidelines and policy. 

Again on 29 June 2020, India banned the usage of TikTok for all residents during the military clash between India and China on the shared border. 

The main reason for the ban was the fact that Chinese applications were storing user data on the servers located in China.

India stated that the app was banned to protect the security of 1.3 billion citizens. 

23. Indonesia

Indonesia banned TikTok on 3 July 2018 to stop children from accessing pornography and inappropriate content posted on the app. 

Rudiantara, the Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information, added that they could remove the ban in response to the company promising to remove the harmful content and the guarantee to maintain clean content. 

In October 2023, Indonesia also banned e-commerce transactions on social platforms like TikTok and Facebook in regard to the country’s new rules.

Bonus Reads: Check out TikTok Ad Revenue for more insights and information on TikTok.

Final Verdict: Tiktok Banned Countries (2024)

That’s all about the TikTok-banned countries. 

TikTok is presently banned in 23 countries. India, Nepal, Ireland, Taiwan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and  Afghanistan have completely blocked the app, while it is partially banned in the remaining countries. 

It will be interesting to see if any country will remove the ban from TikTok or if they will impose further restrictions on the application. 

If you are interested to know about other latest facts, you can check out our website. 

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