– It is stupid that a minister of justice, who is responsible for the security act, has installed TikTok on the service phone, Conservative leader Erna Solberg told news last week. – Everyone can make mistakes, but the mistake she has made in addition is trying to mislead the Storting, she added. Because there are still several unanswered questions in the case, the opposition believes. In the ordinary question time on Wednesday, Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl must therefore again answer for herself: Does the minister think she has complied with her obligation to provide information to the Storting? Does the minister think that installing TikTok on the service telephone is in accordance with the National Security Authority’s advice on mobile use? How should the Storting trust the minister the next time she chooses not to answer questions and justifies it with security considerations? A review news has made of the many answers Mehl has given to the Storting shows that the SP summit could have clarified the matter far too many months ago. But only on 1 February did she choose to say the following to the Storting, at the same time as she gave an interview to TV 2: – I would therefore like to clarify that I had TikTok on an ungraded service phone for about a month last autumn. DUTIES OF INFORMATION: Frps justice politician Per-Willy Amundsen. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB Per-Willy Amundsen (Frp), who is chairman of the Storting’s justice committee, believes that Mehl has acted disrespectfully towards the Storting. – It is important that the Storting can trust the information we receive from the government. Then the questions we ask must be answered. As it now appears, she has withheld information and misled the Storting, he says to news. – There were obviously no security reasons for this. There were reasons of convenience. news has presented Amundsen’s statements to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness. They refer to the interview Mehl did with news on Monday and earlier answers to the Storting. – In addition to this, the Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness will respond to the Storting on Wednesday, says an e-mail. Mehl denied on Monday to news that she has misled the Storting. – I sent answers to written questions to the Storting before this information was published by TV 2. I have been keen to be as open and honest in this matter as possible, she said. “Following all advice” It was Dagbladet that first started digging into the matter last autumn. On 3 October, Høyre’s justice politician Sveinung Stensland asked the minister to explain her use of the app TikTok, “including whether it is installed on a mobile phone she uses in the service”. Mehl replied that she is “present on various social media and platforms”. – I adhere to the current advice and guidelines for the use of, among other things, mobile phone in the service, it said. In a debate on 4 October, Amundsen from the FRP asked Mehl to answer whether she could “guarantee to the Storting that she has not at any time installed or otherwise used TikTok from a phone or other communication device that she has used in her service as Minister of Justice ?” – I can assure the representative that I follow the advice and rules applicable at all times from my ministry and our services, replied Mehl. – I don’t think it’s right for me to go into details about how I use my digital devices, she said further. “High security awareness” But Amundsen was not satisfied with the answers. Over the autumn, he asked a number of new questions. On 10 and 18 October, two of the justice politician’s questions to the Prime Minister’s office were answered by Mehl. Both were about the government’s guidelines for the use of TikTok. Amundsen wanted to know how many ministers “have this application installed on their official phones”. Mehl pointed out that she meets different population and age groups on social media than in traditional media. – I can assure the representative that my cabinet colleagues and I have a high level of security awareness, said the reply to the Storting. Mehl also referred to NSM’s 13 advice on mobile use. She again assured that she is taking the necessary precautions, without giving a concrete answer to the question about installing the app. In a response on November 18 to questions about whether the company ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is a “trusted source”, Mehl refers to “high security awareness” related to possible vulnerabilities. And on December 15, Amundsen asked directly if Mehl “has at any time had the Chinese application TikTok installed on his service phone.” Mehl referred to his answers to previous questions, but added one element: – TikTok is installed on phones dedicated to social media. She did not elaborate on the answer any further. Amundsen went into even more detail and asked on 10 January: – Has the minister at any time between the date of taking office as Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness and up to 22 December 2022 had the Chinese application TikTok installed on his service phone? QUESTION: Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) has had to answer questions about her TikTok use ever since last October. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB On 19 January, Mehl once again referred to his previous answers and added: – I relate to the current advice and guidelines for the use of e.g. mobile phone in the service. In the meantime, in a parliamentary debate on 18 January, the Conservative Party’s Mahmoud Farahmand asked: – Has the minister had TikTok installed on his service phone? He described the answers from the minister as “evasive, flawed and at times unsatisfactory”. Mehl pointed out that Høyre’s Erna Solberg had also had TikTok on her service phone when she was prime minister. Again, she pointed out that she follows current advice: – I have also taken action, on my own initiative – no one has imposed it – by having a separate phone for social media. Solberg and the right-wing leaders Henrik Asheim and Tina Bru all had TikTok on their phones in 2020, but deleted the app. Clarification after four months Also in a response to the Storting about NSM’s advice on mobile use on 25 January, Mehl pointed out that “the administration follows the current advice and guidelines”. But then the clarification came on 1 February: Amundsen wanted to know whether Mehl had “misled the Storting about whether TikTok had been installed on her service phone”. The question was asked after Dagbladet, citing anonymous sources, wrote that Mehl had had TikTok on his work phone. – I have therefore pointed out that I believe that for security reasons it has not been wise to go into the details of how I use various digital devices. This is because it will be able to provide insight into how, for example, I receive graded information. – I now feel that this must be weighed against the questions being asked. Among other things, I note that there is speculation as to whether it may have been installed on a graded service telephone. I would therefore like to clarify that I had TikTok on an ungraded service phone for about a month last autumn. It is this last answer that the Storting will now go into further.
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This is how Mehl has responded to the Storting – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
