By Stuart Condie
SYDNEY–Australia said Tuesday that it will ban TikTok on all government-issued digital devices, following the U.S. and other intelligence-sharing allies in response to concerns about data security on the app.
The decision announced by Australia’s attorney general means all members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance have restricted government access to the video-sharing app either through full or partial bans. Lawmakers worry that the Chinese government could force TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. to hand over user data, or to influence the videos they view.
The U.S. gave government agencies 30 days from the start of March to delete TikTok from federal devices and systems. Canada and the U.K. have enacted similar prohibitions in recent weeks, while New Zealand banned it from devices linked to its Parliament.
Australia’s ban, which covers all devices issued by federal government departments and agencies, came on the advice of the intelligence and security agencies, the attorney general said.
“The direction will come into effect as soon as practicable,” Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said.
The U.S. federal government and a majority of state governments–as well as the European Union–have banned government employees from using TikTok on work devices.
TikTok said that Australia’s decision was driven by politics and that the government hadn’t responded to its offers of what it called constructive engagement.
“There is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and [it] should not be treated differently to other social media platforms,” said Lee Hunter, TikTok’s Australia and New Zealand general manager.
Last month, a TikTok spokesperson said U.K., Australian and New Zealand user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore, and access to it is tightly controlled.
“We have never shared user data with the Chinese government, nor would we if asked,” the spokesperson said.
In 2022, TikTok was the most downloaded app in the world, including in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and New Zealand, according to analytics company AppMagic. It was the second-most downloaded app in Australia, behind the country’s official app that lets people access government services, AppMagic said.
Write to Stuart Condie at [email protected]
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