Australian Justice Minister Mark Dreyfus announced a ban on Chinese app TikTok on government devices on Tuesday (April 4). With this move, Australia is joining a series of similar decisions in Western countries on security grounds. The decision was taken on the advice of Australian intelligence services, and will be put into practice "as soon as possible", said Mark Dreyfus.
China said on Tuesday it had formally protested to Australia over the decision. "We call on the Australian side to sincerely abide by the rules of market economy and the principles of fair competition, and provide Chinese enterprises with a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment," said Mao Ning, spokesperson. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a regular press conference.
Australia is the latest country in the so-called Five Eyes alliance to ban members of its government from TikTok, following the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Similar measures have been taken in France, the Netherlands and within the European Commission.
