As a result of concerns that the app’s security has been breached and that China may utilize the platform for external intervention, the Australian government has banned TikTok from being used on government-owned smartphones.
After the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand made similar decisions to block the app, Australia becomes the final member of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership to do so.
Mark Dreyfus, the attorney general, stated that the prohibition would go into force “as soon as practicable.” Exemptions, he stressed, would be granted on an individual basis.
“After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, today I authorized the secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department to issue a mandatory direction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by Commonwealth departments and agencies,” he said in a statement, ABC reported.
The Victorian and ACT governments confirmed to the outlet that an imminent ban was expected.
“We’ve always said we’ll follow the Commonwealth’s guidance when it comes to cybersecurity – and we’ll now work on implementing these changes across the public service as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for Premier Daniel Andrews was quoted as saying by ABC.
Minister of Home Affairs Clare O’Neil was awaiting a review on the possibility that TikTok and other social media platforms could be used by foreign powers to influence government organizations; in the interim, departments made their own decisions regarding whether or not to forbid staff from using the app.
The app may still be used on personal devices by those who were affected by the prohibition.
TikTok ‘disappointed’
TikTok’s general manager in Australia Lee Hunter said that they were “extremely disappointed” with the decision which in their view was driven by politics.
“And we’re also disappointed with the fact that TikTok and the millions of Australians who use it every day will find out about this decision through the media, despite repeated efforts from our end,” he said.
James Paterson, the shadow minister for cybersecurity, has cautioned that Australian user data on the app may be accessible by Chinese authorities because the corporation is bound by the country’s national intelligence regulations and must accede to Beijing’s requests for data.
TikTok has frequently stated that it has never received a request of this nature and would decline to share Australian user data if contacted.
Courtesy The News International 2023!
