Australian Opposition Backs US Approach on TikTok

Chinese social media platform TikTok. Antonin UTZ / AFP

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has expressed support for banning TikTok in Australia, in light of President Joe Biden signing legislation requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest its ownership of TikTok in the United States.

Ms. Ley indicated the Opposition would support looking closely at the U.S. approach.

“TikTok is a Chinese company of course, and it is vulnerable therefore to influences from the Chinese Communist Party,” Ms. Ley said.

“I remember that they acknowledged a couple of years ago that they actually stored Australian data on their servers somewhere. So it’s inappropriate for TikTok to have the reach and access that it does. We would support measures and look closely at what the U.S. has done.

“Because again we have to be cautious about cyber-enabled espionage and foreign interference.”

Pressed further on whether she would like to see TikTok shut down like the U.S., Ms. Ley said, “I think we should look at similar measures, I absolutely do.”

TikTok’s Fate in the US

The U.S. has swiftly passed a bill aimed at TikTok, a subsidiary of Beijing-based technology firm ByteDance.

Under this new law, ByteDance has 270 days to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations.

If ByteDance fails to carry out the sale, it will face a ban across the country and subsequent removal from app stores and website hosts.

Billionaire X owner Elon Musk said on April 20 that he does not support a TikTok ban because it contradicts freedom of expression.

“In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform,” Mr. Musk said.

“Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”

However, following the passage of the bill and its signing into law by President Biden, TikTok CEO Shou Chew indicated that the platform is “not going anywhere.”

The Singapore-born CEO said TikTok is confident and will keep fighting for the rights of users of the platform in the courts. He claimed the facts and the constitution are on TikTok’s side and the platform “expects to prevail again.”

“Make no mistake, this is a ban on TikTok, and a ban on you and your voice. Politicians may say otherwise but don’t get confused, many who sponsored the bill admit a TikTok ban is their ultimate goal,” Mr. Chew said.

“It’s obviously a disappointing moment, but it does not need to be a defining one. It’s actually ironic, because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”

However, White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre said it is “not about a ban“ but about divesting and national security.

“This is not concerned about Americans using TikTok, this is about PRC (People’s Republic of China) ownership, this is about the control of TikTok,” she said.

“We want to see a divestment, we want to see it being sold, and we do not seek a ban, this is not what this bill is about.”

Australia Must Make TikTok Safer: Shadow Home Affairs Minister

Meanwhile, Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson said the Coalition welcomed the U.S. bill to divest from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s control.

He suggested that Australia must take similar steps, noting that ByteDance is a “social media giant” headquartered in Beijing that is “ultimately beholden to the CCP.

The Shadow Home Affairs Minister indicated the Albanese government should follow President Biden’s lead and “do the same.”

“The Coalition stands ready to work with the Albanese government to make TikTok safer for all Australians by removing the Chinese Communist Party’s control over the app,” Mr. Paterson said.

However, TikTok Australia General Manager of Global Business Solutions Brett Armstrong expressed that TikTok is no risk in Australia.

“There is zero evidence suggesting that TikTok is in any way a national security risk, and we welcome the Prime Minister’s recent comments that his government has no plans to ban us,” Mr. Armstrong said.

“TikTok is a platform that is loved by over 8.5 million Australians and 350,000 Australian businesses, with a recent independent study by Oxford Economics finding that we contribute $1.1b (US$719 million) and 13,000 jobs to the Australian economy.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil told the Financial Review that the Albanese government is “monitoring events in the U.S.,” noting that it had banned TikTok on government phones.

“We are monitoring events in the U.S. closely, and will take additional advice if any potential sale or new information from our agencies make it necessary,” the spokesman said.