Some countries have banned TikTok on government-owned devices due to the risk of data collection and security risks. This includes Australia, Estonia, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan, as well as the EU.

There are "no plans" for a TikTok ban in the UK, officials have said as a block in the US is set to come into force on Sunday. The social media giant lost a last-ditch legal bid this week to have a ban declared as unconstitutional on free-speech grounds.

The UK must not follow the US in banning TikTok, the Alba Party’s Holyrood leader has urged. The US Supreme Court upheld the ban on the social media site – passed as a result of national security fears – this week, with a ban due to come into force from Sunday.

ByteDance has until January 19th to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, or see the app banned in America. As the chances of a ban have grown, following the Supreme Court’s decision on January 17th to uphold a sell-or-ban law passed last year,