This article was last updated on July 14, 2023
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Officials Restricted from Mobile Shopping on AliExpress and Other Apps
The use of certain mobile apps by central government officials in the Netherlands has been prohibited due to concerns over potential espionage. Recently, TikTok was banned for such officials, and now they are also prohibited from having the AliExpress online store app and the WeChat chat app installed on their work phones, both of which are made in China.
A total of ten apps have been blacklisted, including four apps from China, as well as apps from Russia, Iran, and North Korea. These countries have been identified by the Dutch intelligence service (AIVD) as being involved in espionage activities.
Security Concerns
The ban on these apps is driven by fears that foreign governments could exploit them to access sensitive customer data and utilize it for espionage purposes. Information such as user contact lists, location data, photos, and documents could be of significant interest to intelligence agencies.
In March, the Dutch Cabinet announced the restriction, initially focusing on TikTok. Many civil servants are no longer permitted to use these apps, and national government IT departments have been instructed to block them. However, implementation may not be consistent across all departments due to technical limitations, particularly for Android phones. The ultimate goal is to allow only approved apps to be installed on work phones of civil servants.
The Popular Apps
There is currently no information available regarding the number of government officials who had these apps installed on their work phones. TikTok, known for its popularity among teenagers and young adults in the Netherlands, is the most widely used app among the restricted ones. AliExpress, the Chinese online marketplace owned by the Alibaba conglomerate, is also quite popular, offering affordable products to Dutch consumers. VKontakte, a Russian social media platform, has a significant user base primarily in the former Soviet Union region. WeChat, while having fewer users in the Netherlands, boasts over a billion users worldwide, with the majority coming from China.
It is worth noting that the ban on these apps is not uniformly enforced at all times, with some IT departments implementing the ban only on TikTok and not on the other restricted apps. Technical challenges also hinder the removal of apps that have already been downloaded, particularly on Android devices.
Global Bans
The Dutch government’s decision to ban TikTok aligns with efforts made by other European countries like Belgium and the United Kingdom. Employees of European Union institutions in Brussels are also forbidden from using the app. In the United States, many government officials are similarly banned from using TikTok, and there have been calls for a complete prohibition.
A spokesperson for outgoing State Secretary Van Huffelen for Kingdom Relations and Digitization declined to comment on the matter. TikTok, on the other hand, has provided a page explaining its data collection practices and has committed to making it available in Dutch soon.
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