Major Companies Bunnings, Vodafone Axe TikTok’s Data-Collecting Tools

The logo of TikTok on a smartphone in Mulhouse, eastern France, on Oct. 30, 2023. Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images

Several of Australia’s largest companies and government agencies have opted out of TikTok’s data-collecting tool amid rising concerns the Chinese-based video-streaming company could be harvesting the personal data of users without their knowledge.

This comes after the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner confirmed in late December 2023 that it would investigate whether TikTok violated Australia’s privacy laws when it allegedly used a pixel tool to gather data on users, such as email addresses and mobile phone numbers, without consent.

Pixels are tiny snippets of code placed on a website by its operators to gather information about website visitors and track their activities.

Using pixels, website owners and third parties, such as social media companies, can formulate an identity for each website visitor that can be used for marketing or other purposes.

Following the privacy commissioner’s announcement, Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson wrote letters to some of the most visited websites in Australia, asking them whether they would continue to use TikTok pixels.

In the letter, the Victorian senator pointed out that TikTok had acknowledged that its employees in China were compelled under law to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) intelligence agencies and to keep that cooperation secret.

“This comes at a time where Australia’s intelligence agencies assess that foreign interference, espionage, state-backed cyberattacks, and intellectual property theft are at record highs,” Mr. Paterson’s letter read, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

“The Chinese government is the principal source of those threats.”

Major Companies and Government Agencies Axe TikTok’s Pixels

After his letter was sent, Mr. Paterson received replies from several major companies, including Network 10, Bunnings, Vodafone, Mitre10, Total Tools, and Nimble, who said they had removed TikTok pixels from their websites.

Some government-sponsored tourism organisations, such as Tourism NT, Tourism Tasmania, and Tourism Queensland, as well as not-for-profit organisations (Headspace, Beyond Blue, and Western Sydney University), also took a similar approach.

Bunnings Warehouse is seen in Maribyrnong on August 4, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

A woman walks past a Vodafone store in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 30, 2018. William West/AFP via Getty Images

“I’m very pleased with the proactive steps taken to protect the privacy of their customers by major Australian companies,” Mr. Paterson said in a statement.

Nevertheless, not every organisation took heed of Mr. Paterson’s warning.

Woolworths, Kmart, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, and the University of Wollongong confirmed that they would continue to use the pixel, citing various reasons.

Meanwhile, the Australian Football League did not reply to the senator’s inquiry.

“Every Australian company is now on notice: follow the lead of organisations who respect the privacy of their website visitors and stop using TikTok’s pixel, or run the risk they are participating in an unlawful mass breach of Australians’ privacy in partnership with a company beholden to a foreign authoritarian government,” Mr. Paterson said.

Meanwhile, TikTok criticised Mr. Paterson for reminding Australian companies about the threat of its data-collecting tools.

“Threatening to name and shame businesses because they work with us and use our pixel, which is a lawful, industry-wide marketing tool, is quite shocking,” a spokeswoman said, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr. Paterson’s statement comes after it was reported in late December 2023 that TikTok had allegedly been prompting users to input their iPhone passwords to view content.

eSports and gaming website Dexerto revealed that reports about TikTok asking users for their iPhone passwords to watch videos on the app started to emerge in November 2023.

Dexerto noted that the move coincided with security updates from Apple aimed at protecting users from password theft if devices are stolen.

So far, TikTok has not explained why the company implemented such a move, raising concerns among its users about privacy issues.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this article.