Australian government officials will soon be banned from using TikTok on their government-issued devices, according to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
The move comes amid concerns that the Chinese-owned social media platform poses a national security risk, and that it could be used for foreign interference by the Chinese government.
The decision means Australia becomes the final country in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance to block the app, following similar decisions by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
Dreyfus said the ban would be effective “as soon as practicable,” and exemptions would be granted on a case-by-case basis.
“After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, today I authorised 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,” Dreyfus said in a statement.
The Victorian and ACT governments have confirmed that they expected an imminent ban, and the ACT government will consider similar restrictions on its territory government devices at a security and emergency management meeting of Cabinet.
TikTok denies national security risk
TikTok has denied that its app poses any national security risk, and its general manager in Australia, Lee Hunter, said the company was “extremely disappointed” with the decision.
“We’re extremely disappointed with this decision. In our view, this is driven by politics and not by fact,” Hunter said, adding “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.”
However, Shadow Cybersecurity Minister James Paterson has warned that Australian user data on the app could be accessed by Chinese officials, as the company is subject to China’s national intelligence laws, which require it to comply with data requests from Beijing.
TikTok also stated that it has never received such a request and would refuse to provide Australian user data if asked to do so.
People affected by the ban will still be able to continue using the app on their personal devices. According to ABC, which is Commonwealth-funded, it would review its use of the platform on ABC devices following the government.
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