Australia: TikTok banned on government devices

Australia announced on Tuesday that it would ban members of its government from using the Chinese app TikTok on their work devices, joining a series of similar rulings in Western countries due to security fears

Australia: TikTok banned on government devices

Australia announced on Tuesday that it would ban members of its government from using the Chinese app TikTok on their work devices, joining a series of similar rulings in Western countries due to security fears.

This decision was taken on the advice of Australian intelligence services, and will be put into practice "as soon as possible", said Minister of Justice Mark Dreyfus.

Australia is the latest country in the so-called "Five Eyes" alliance to ban members of its government from TikTok, after the United States, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

Similar measures have been taken in France, the Netherlands and within the European Commission.

At the center of fears is a 2017 Chinese law that requires local companies to hand over personal data that would be relevant to national security upon request by authorities.

TikTok said the bans were "rooted in xenophobia", before acknowledging last December that it had collected personal data to spy on journalists.

The popularity of this short video sharing app has exploded in recent years, especially among young people. Many Australian government departments had previously sought to grow their presence on TikTok to reach younger audiences.

The app is owned by Chinese group ByteDance, which has a similar but separate app for China.

Earlier this year, the Australian government also announced that it would remove Chinese-made CCTV cameras from politicians' offices, also for security reasons.

04/04/2023 04:05:50 -        Sydney (AFP) -         © 2023 AFP