Australia said Tuesday it will ban TikTok on government devices, joining growth list of Western countries are cracking up down on Chinese-owned app because of national Security concerns.
said Attorney General Mark Dreyfuss decision Follow the advice of the country’s intelligence agencies and he will begin “like soon As much as possible “.
Australia is last member of Secret Five Eyes Alliance to follow a government ban TikTok, joining Its allies are the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
France, the Netherlands and the European Commission have made similar moves.
Dreyfuss said government He will agree to some exemptions on on a case by case basis with Appropriate security mitigations in place. “
Cybersecurity experts have warned that the app — which it is proud of more from one one billion global Users – can be used to dispose up The data that is then shared with Chinese government.
Surveys have estimated that as many as seven million Australians use app – or about a quarter of the population.
In a security notice outlining the ban, the Attorney General’s Department said TikTok poses “significant security and privacy risks” stemming from “the wide range of of user data.”
Fergus Ryan, Ann analyst with The Australian Institute for Strategic Policy said the divestiture of TikTok government Hardware was a “no brainer”.
“It has been clear for Years TikTok user data can be accessed in “China,” Ryan told AFP.
“ban use of application on government Wisdom phones decision Given this fact. “
Ryan said Beijing would likely “see it as an unfair treatment”. of and discrimination against Chinese company.
The security concerns are based on a 2017 Chinese law that requires domestic companies to turn over over Country personal data if relevant national protection.
Beijing has denied that these reforms pose a threat to ordinary users.
China “has not and will not require companies or individuals to collect or provide data in Foreign country , in a way “Domestic law is violated,” said foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning. in He walks.
‘rooted in xenophobia
TikTok said this bans She’s rooted in Xenophobic” while insisting that it is not owned or operated by the Chinese government.
Australian company spokesperson Lee Hunter said it would “never happen”. give data to the Chinese government.
“no one He works harder to achieve it sure “It would never be a possibility,” he told Australia’s Channel Seven.
But the company admitted in November that some staff in China can access European user data, and in It said in December that employees had used the data for espionage on journalists.
The application is used for share Hilarious short videos and have a blast in popularity in Last few years.
a lot government Departments were initially keen on use TikTok to connect with A smaller demographic is hard to reach traditional media channels.
New Zealand has banned TikTok from government hardware in March, saying the risks are “unacceptable in the current New Zealand Parliament environment. “
earlier this yearaussie government announced would strip the Chinese-made CCTV cameras from the offices of politicians because of Security concerns.
