Australia has joined other Western countries in banning the use of TikTok on government devices, as the Chinese-owned video app has come under increasing pressure over allegations that it presents a security concern.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus announced the ban last Tuesday after receiving advice from the country’s intelligence and security agencies saying the directive would be enforced “as soon as possible”.
The decision puts Australia in line with its Five Eyes intelligence alliance allies – the US, Britain and Canada have already announced similar restrictions, while New Zealand’s parliament has also ordered the app to be removed from all devices with access to the legislative. Norway and the European Parliament have taken similar measures, and last week NATO banned staff from downloading the app on NATO-provided devices.
Lee Hunter, general manager of TikTok in Australia and New Zealand, said the company is “extremely disappointed with this decision, which, in our opinion, is motivated by”. He further completed:
“Our millions of Australian users deserve a government that makes decisions based on facts and treats all businesses fairly, regardless of country of origin.”
He also stressed that the company had repeatedly reached out to the Australian government for constructive engagement, although he said there was no evidence to suggest the app posed a security risk to the country. In early 2023, Australia had more than 8 million users aged 18 and over, according to the company, citing a report by DataReportal, which studies digital trends around the world.
So far, there is no evidence that the Chinese government has accessed TikTok user data, and no government has enacted a broader ban targeting TikTok on personal devices. However, the Biden administration has threatened to do so in the United States unless the app’s Chinese owners, Bytedance, agree to split its stake in the social media platform.
This article used as a source the writing by Chris Lau to the website CNN Business.
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