British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has launched his TikTok account, despite the app being banned on government devices, in an attempt to communicate with younger voters. A spokesperson for his office stated that «strict security measures» have been implemented for the Prime Minister's account on the app. In his first video posted on TikTok, Starmer is seen lighting a Christmas tree on Downing Street with his wife, saying, «TikTok, follow me». In another video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen hugging Starmer outside his residence before the Prime Minister joins French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks on proposals to end the war in Ukraine. In March 2023, London banned TikTok on government devices due to data security concerns linked to the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Prior to this ban, an official account for the Prime Minister's office, «10 Downing Street,» was launched in May 2022 when Boris Johnson was prime minister, but it stopped posting videos after three months. A spokesperson for Starmer clarified that «the restrictions on using the app on most government devices remain in place, and there are no changes to our security policy regarding TikTok». This move is seen as the latest attempt by Starmer to communicate directly with voters, as he and his government continue to suffer from a steady decline in popularity.
