To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department will shut down its TikTok account.
Answered on
21 March 2023
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) TikTok account has been implemented to communicate globally the ongoing efforts of the UK Armed Forces, including our work with nine partner nations, to train Ukrainian solders and prepare them for frontline combat.
In order to deliver our messages internationally we must leverage the largest digital platforms available to us with the most significant reach and scale. Whilst we have been effective with our digital communications, in particular with our daily Defence Intelligence updates on Twitter which have been read over 400 million times, we must do more to reach audiences worldwide.
Robust processes are in place to control publishing to social media from within the MOD. Communications on social media are delivered by separate systems through a small number of communications staff. TikTok communications, like all social media publishing, are delivered via third-party software and no government devices are being used to publish or monitor the platform directly.