The Australian government on Tuesday banned TikTok on all government-owned devices over security concerns, following similar bans in other western countries.
Attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said the direction will come into effect as soon as possible and exemptions will only be granted on a case-by-case basis.
The protective security direction issued with the ban says TikTok poses “significant security and privacy risks to non-corporate Commonwealth entities arising from extensive collection of user data and exposure to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law”.
According to a Guardian report, more than half of all federal government agencies currently ban TikTok from government devices, but the overarching policy will ensure consistency across the government.
According to a Guardian report, more than half of all federal government agencies currently ban TikTok from government devices, but the overarching policy will ensure consistency across the government.
This comes just weeks after New Zealand banned TikTok on all devices with access to the country’s parliamentary network over cybersecurity concerns. The UK also announced an immediate ban of TikTok on government devices over a risk of how sensitive data could be used on certain platforms.
The US, Canadian and French governments have also taken similar steps against TikTok. The app was banned in India in 2020 along with several other Chinese apps over concerns of privacy and security issues. Other countries which have banned TikTok include Taiwan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) on Friday also restricted its staffers from downloading TikTok onto their Nato-provided devices.