Grant Shapps swerves questions on whether Britain could follow the US by banning Chinese-owned TikTok after Washington approves hardline laws - as Defence Secretary says he still has an account (but doesn't access it himself)

Grant Shapps today swerved questions as to whether Britain could follow the US and ban TikTok amid security fears over the Chinese-owned social media app.

The Defence Secretary said a vote in Washington DC last night was 'interesting' after the US Senate voted in favour of hardline legislation.

It means TikTok will be banned in America unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells its stake in the app over the next nine to 12 months.

The bill was passed by Congress as US legislators expressed fears the Chinese government could access the data of TikTok's 170million American users or spy on phones through the software.

It is set to be signed into law by US President Joe Biden today. 

Asked this morning whether Britain should consider passing similar laws, Mr Shapps told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've always been very cognisant of the Chinese element of this.

'Because of laws in China, which mean Chinese-owned companies can effectively have that data looked at by the Chinese government.

'It's one of the reasons why I'm extremely cautious about and don't have TikTok installed on any of my devices.'

Mr Shapps said he still has a TikTok account, with more than 20,000 followers, but stressed the app is not installed on his personal devices.

'I do still have a TikTok account, I just don't have it on my devices, I don't post to it personally for exactly those reasons,' he added.

The Defence Secretary suggested it would not be necessary for Britain to take similar action over TikTok should the new US legislation be successful in removing the app's Chinese owners. 

'In terms of security, the American decision is that it would be banned in the US unless the ownership is transferred,' he said.

'And if that happens, of course, that would remove those problems.'

Mr Shapps added: 'It will actually be resolved by what the US is doing and we've always been very clear to say to people - not just with TikTok actually but with almost any app you have on your phone, TikTok is not unique about the permissions that it asks for... be careful with your data.

'That's a sensible message to everybody regardless of what they have on their phones.'

Asked how he accessed his TikTok account, if the app is not installed on his personal devices, Mr Shapps replied: 'I just don't.'

Pressed on why he had the app, if he didn't access it himself, the Defence Secretary added: 'It's one of the most popular social media accounts and a lot of people, particularly younger people, use TikTok.

'So it's a question of whether - as somebody who seeks to represent and does represent my constituents - I want to be able to communicate with them where they are.

'But, of course, I do think it's very, very important that security - as you would imagine from the Defence Secretary - is at the heart of everything that we do.

'So I don't have it on my own devices but I think it is pretty important that we make sure this is resolved and so I thought the Congressional vote was interesting.'