Australia to ban TikTok on government facilities for security reasons

The Australian government announced on Tuesday that it will remove TikTok from all federal government-owned devices for security reasons, becoming the latest US ally to crack down on the Chinese-owned video app.
The move underscores growing concerns that the Chinese government could use the Beijing-based company, owned by ByteDance Ltd, to collect user data to advance its political agenda, undermining Western security interests.
It risks reviving diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing, which have eased somewhat since the Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returned to power in May.
The ban will take effect “as soon as possible,” Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement, adding that exemptions would only be granted on a case-by-case basis and if appropriate safeguards were in place.
With the Australian ban, all members of the so called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network which consists of Australia, Canada, the United States, Britain and New Zealand banned the app from government devices. Similar bans have been announced by France, Belgium and the European Commission.
An Australian newspaper reported on Monday that Albanians had agreed to a government-wide ban on the use of TikTok following the completion of a review by the Home Office.
Dreyfus confirmed that the federal government had recently received the “Review of Foreign Interference Through Social Media Applications” report and that its recommendations remained under consideration.
TikTok said it was “extremely disappointed” by Australia’s decision, calling it “driven by politics, not facts, there is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and should be treated no differently than other social media platforms,” TikTok Australia and New Zealand CEO Lee Hunter said in a statement.
AUSTRALIA CHINA LINKS
In 2018, Australia banned China’s Huawei from providing equipment during the country’s 5G rollout, prompting its largest trading partner. Ties further soured after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
China responded by imposing tariffs on Australian commodities. Lawmakers can still use TikTok on their personal phones, but some, including Federal Government Services Minister Bill Shorten and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, have decided to delete their TikTok accounts.
TikTok has come under pressure as more countries ban it on government phones. Last month, US lawmakers grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew during testimony before Congress about potential Chinese influence on the platform and the app’s impact on children.
TikTok said President Joe Biden’s administration demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential US ban.
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