Australia bans TikTok on government devices

Australia bans TikTok on government devices

Australia has said it will ban TikTok on government devices
Australia has said it will ban TikTok on government devices. Photo: LOIC VENANCE / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

Australia said Tuesday it will ban TikTok on government devices, joining a growing list of Western nations cracking down on the Chinese-owned app due to national security fears.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the decision followed advice from the country's intelligence agencies and would begin "as soon as practicable".

Australia is the last member of the secretive Five Eyes security alliance to pursue a government TikTok ban, joining its allies the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

France, the Netherlands and the European Commission have made similar moves.

Dreyfus said the government would approve some exemptions on a "case-by-case basis" with "appropriate security mitigations in place".

Cyber security experts have warned that the app -- which boasts more than one billion users -- could be used to hoover up data that is then shared with the Chinese government.

Read also

US expands access to EV subsidies in proposed rules

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Fergus Ryan, an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said stripping TikTok from government devices was a "no-brainer".

"It's been clear for years that TikTok user data is accessible in China," Ryan told AFP.

"Banning the use of the app on government phones is a prudent decision given this fact."

Ryan said Beijing would likely "perceive it as unfair treatment of and discrimination against a Chinese company".

The security concerns are underpinned by a 2017 Chinese law that requires local firms to hand over personal data to the state if it is relevant to national security.

Beijing has denied these reforms pose a threat to ordinary users.

China "has never and will not require companies or individuals to collect or provide data located in a foreign country, in a way that violates local law", foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in March.

Read also

Italy blocks AI chatbot ChatGPT over data privacy failings

'Rooted in xenophobia'

TikTok has said such bans were "rooted in xenophobia", while insisting that it is not owned or operated by the Chinese government.

The company's Australian spokesman Lee Hunter said it "would never" give data to the Chinese government.

"No one is working harder to make sure this would never be a possibility," he told Australia's Channel Seven.

But the firm acknowledged in November that some employees in China could access European user data, and in December it said employees had used the data to spy on journalists.

The app is used to share short, lighthearted videos and has exploded in popularity in recent years.

Many government departments were initially eager to use TikTok as a way to connect with a younger demographic that is harder to reach through traditional media channels.

New Zealand banned TikTok from government devices in March, saying the risks were "not acceptable in the current New Zealand Parliamentary environment".

Read also

Japan unveils export control plans for chip equipment

Earlier this year, the Australian government announced it would be stripping Chinese-made CCTV cameras from politicians' offices due to security concerns.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.