Australia bans TikTok on government devices over security concerns | World News

The Australian government said on Tuesday it would remove TikTok from all federal government-owned devices due to security concerns, becoming the latest U.S. ally to take action against the Chinese-owned video app.

The move underscores growing concerns that the Chinese government could use the Beijing-based ByteDance company to harvest user data to advance its political agenda, at the expense of Western security interests.

It threatens to reignite diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing that have eased since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government returned to power in May.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement that the ban would take effect “as soon as practicable,” adding that exemptions would only be made on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security measures in place. Granted in case of measures.

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With Australia’s ban, all members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network – including Australia, Canada, the US, the UK and New Zealand – have banned the app from being used on government devices. France, Belgium and the European Commission have also announced similar bans.

Australian newspapers reported late on Monday that Albanese had agreed to a government-wide ban on TikTok after the Home Office completed a review.

Dreyfus confirmed the federal government had recently received a report on “scrutiny of foreign interference through social media applications” and its recommendations were still being considered.

TikTok expressed “very disappointed” with Australia’s decision, saying it was “driven by politics, not facts”.

“There is no evidence that TikTok poses a safety risk to Australians in any way and should not be treated differently from other social media platforms,” ​​TikTok Australia and New Zealand managing director Lee Hunter said in a statement.