Senator Pushes Labor Government to Keep up With Allies on TikTok Ban

A visitor makes a photo at the TikTok exhibition stands at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 25, 2022.The Canadian Press/AP, Martin Meissner

The federal government is under pressure over its slow response to bans on Tiktok in the United States, Canada, and the European Union.

The shadow minister for Cybersecurity and Countering Foreign Interference, Senator James Paterson, says the Labor government has been “inconsistent and haphazard” in its approach to national security.

According to an audit by the senator, 25 federal government departments in Australia have banned Tiktok from all workplace devices. However, another 12 have only partially banned the app, while 11 have no restrictions on it at all.

“If it’s unsafe to be on the devices of some public servants, it’s not clear to me why it’s safe to be on the devices of other public servants, particularly in light, as you say, of the decision of the U.S. government to ban it on all government devices,” Paterson told Sky News AM Agenda.

“That’s been matched by the Canadian government, the European Commission and by other countries like Denmark. I think Australia is falling behind here.”

Is Security a Priority? Senator Asks

Paterson is concerned that despite pushing for the app to be deemed a security risk.

“I’ve been calling on the Albanese government for eight months to do something about this after TikTok admitted to me in a letter in July last year that Australian user data is accessible in mainland China. Ever since then, I think there’s been a compelling case to act. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any action from the government yet, but I hope that changes soon,” he said.

Paterson also called on Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil to act as soon as possible.

“We should not fall behind our friends and allies,” Paterson said.

“We could have led the world like we did with Huawei in 2018, and our judgement on that issue has been backed by many other countries following us. But at the very least, we shouldn’t fall any further behind when it comes to government devices.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers on March 1 said that the government was aware of the Biden administration’s decision and that they would take the advice of Australia’s national security agencies.

“We'll take the advice of our national security agencies,” he said, conceding no advice had been received so far.

“We’re obviously aware of the announcement the Americans made overnight. No doubt, our colleagues in the agencies will be considering that and factoring that into their own thinking. But the advice to us hasn’t yet changed.”

The TikTok Ban on US Devices

The call comes after the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said the Biden administration had made national security a “top priority.”

“Today, OMB is releasing guidance on the implementation of the ‘No TikTok on Government Devices Act,’ requiring agencies to cease using the app except in select circumstances,” the agency wrote on Twitter on Feb. 28

According to a memo to all federal agencies, IT vendors must ensure that within 90 days, no internet traffic goes though the Chinese-backed company’s app. Further, all new vendors have 120 days to ensure TikTok is removed from their devices.

A woman walks past the headquarters of ByteDance, the parent company of video sharing app TikTok, in Beijing, China, on Sept. 16, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

Tiktok has been controversial due to concerns about its ties with parent company ByteDance, based in Beijing.

ByteDance, established in 2012, specialises in the development of artificial intelligence.

Its founder and now-CEO Zhang Yiming declared in 2018 that it would strengthen ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

This has raised concerns because CCP laws subject Chinese companies to potential intervention from the state, notably the National Intelligence Law 2017, which mandates in Article 7 that organisations or citizens shall “support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.”

Paterson noted that independent analysts like Australian cyber security firm Internet 2.0 have proven that TikTok collects vast information on its users, including their physical location.

“TikTok on your phone checks your device’s location. It asks you for your contacts. It maps all the other applications installed on your phone. It checks the Wi-Fi networks you’ve logged into.

“And if you use the in-app browser on TikTok to look at other websites, it has the power to record every single keystroke that you enter. That could include passwords to websites that could include your credit card information,” the senator said.

“Like all large companies in China, it’s subject to China’s National Intelligence law, which requires it to hand over information to Chinese intelligence agencies if requested. And that means we would never know if the information on Australian users, whether a government bureaucrat or private citizen, is being handed over to the Chinese Communist Party.”