TikTok Here to Stay: Palace Sees No Reason to Follow US, India Bans

If you love TikTok, you can keep participating in the viral video challenges. The government will not ban the video-sharing app in the Philippines, notwithstanding security concerns raised by the U.S., President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"Wala po akong dahilan na nakikita para i-ban ang TikTok dito sa Pilipinas (I do not see any reason to ban TikTok here in the Philippines)," Sec. Harry Roque said in a briefing. The Palace spokesman has posted TikTok videos in the last.

Roque said the Duterte administration will not ban any websites in the country, and that the President would not step on freedom of speech.

President Donald Trump said he plans to ban the app, citing allegations against its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, of using the app to collect the personal data and information of its users for the Chinese government. Users have been warned of potential security risks.

India banned the app in July, along with other apps from Chinese companies.

A Reuters article reported that ByteDance has since separated TikTok operations from its other departments, but is still facing pressure from the U.S. to relinquish ownership.

U.S. tech titan Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok to circumvent Trump's plan to ban.