Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo banned federal officials from using TikTok on their work phones, making his the latest country to take steps against the Chinese app.
A number of national governments in Europe have already restricted TikTok for government employees, over fears the authorities in Beijing could use the video-sharing network to access sensitive user data.
"We shouldn't be naive: TikTok is a Chinese business that is currently obliged to cooperate with the Chinese intelligence services," De Croo said.The Belgian move -- in place for a preliminary six months -- follows a risk assessment into potential espionage by the country's cybersecurity and intelligence agencies.
Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
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