TikTok Banned on Australian Government Devices

TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken on Aug. 22, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

The Australian government has banned the social media app TikTok from all government devices following a security review by Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil amid ongoing international concern.

The ban, which was announced on April 4 by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, will prohibit any government-issued devices used by politicians and public servants from installing the social media app.

Dreyfus said in a statement that the ban would come into effect “as soon as practicable.” He said exemptions would be granted on a case-by-case basis.

“After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, today I authorised the secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department to issue a mandatory direction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by Commonwealth departments and agencies,” Dreyfus said.

“The direction will come into effect as soon as practicable.”

However, he noted that possible exemptions will be granted on a “case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place.”

The move brings Australia into line with its Five Eyes allies and nine other countries and multinational organisations, including the UK, the United States, India, Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Pakistan and the EU.

Concerns around TikTok security have risen after the company admitted last year that employees of its parent company, ByteDance, spied on U.S. journalists from Forbes who were investigating the company.

A team led by ByteDance’s former chief internal auditor, Chris Lepitak, improperly gained access to multiple journalists’ IP addresses and other user data through TikTok and then cross-referenced that data to identify whether the journalists had frequented the same areas as ByteDance employees.

Following the report, national security and cyber experts raised concerns over the amount of access the Chinese Communist Party had to data from TikTok under its National Intelligence Law from 2017, which forces civilian companies to provide private data to Beijing.

TikTok Australia General Manager Lee Hunter denied any issue with data security, telling The Epoch Times in an email that there is no evidence to suggest TikTok is a security risk.

“We are extremely disappointed by this decision, which, in our view, is driven by politics, not by fact. We are also disappointed that TikTok, and the millions of Australians who use it, were left to learn of this decision through the media, despite our repeated offers to engage with the government constructively about this policy,” Hunter said.

“Again, we stress that there is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and should not be treated differently to other social media platforms.

“Our millions of Australian users deserve a government which makes decisions based upon facts and who treats all businesses fairly, regardless of country of origin.”

TikTok Security Concerns Very Real

However, the chief strategy officer at CyberCX Australia, Alastair MacGibbon, pushed back on Hunter’s comments, saying TikTok has a history of denying it actually breaches privacy.

“For example, in December last year, you had them admitting to tracking journalists using their own app to look for what the sources of information were that journalists were using,” MacGibbon told Radio National on April 4.

“The CEO, in front of Congress, just recently denied that they would access data but then admitted under questioning that if asked or compelled by the Chinese Communist Party that he would provide data, so the denials are worthless.”

MacGibbon said he was pleased with the federal government’s decision to ban the social media app, adding that it was well known that TikTok reduces the visibility of anti-CCP advocates like pro-democracy activists for Uyghurs.

“So why should we allow ourselves to be subjected to a company that will essentially depress and press people in favour of democracy?” he said.

“Why should we trust a company that will track a journalist? Why wouldn’t they track public officials or bureaucrats? Because that is what they will do. That’s what the Chinese Communist Party does, and it’s time for action.”

Victorian Government Follows Suit

The ban looks set to flow through to Australian states and territories, with a spokesperson for the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, confirming the state would follow the federal government’s guidance.

“We’ve always said we‘ll follow the Commonwealth’s guidance when it comes to cybersecurity—and we’ll now work on implementing these changes across the public service as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said, reported hit.com.au.

“We agree with a nationally consistent approach on these policy settings, and that’s what we’ll get on and deliver.”

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has also confirmed that the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) would also implement a ban on its devices.

“The ACT government was notified yesterday of an imminent announcement from the Commonwealth to ban TikTok from government devices,” they said in a statement.

“Based on the Commonwealth’s advice and the desirability of national cybersecurity consistency, the ACT government will consider similar restrictions on territory government devices at a security and emergency management meeting of Cabinet tomorrow.”

The Epoch Times has also reached out to South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory, Tasmania and New South Wales over whether they will follow suit.

Concerns Over TikTok’s Effect on Teenagers and Children

William Burns, the director of the CIA, has warned about children being potentially harmed by spending time on TikTok.

In a recent interview with PBS, Burns was asked about his recommendation for children using the app.

“I'd be really careful,” he replied.

He said it was “genuinely troubling” how the Chinese government is able to manipulate TikTok.

“Because the parent company of TikTok is a Chinese company, the Chinese government is able to insist upon extracting the private data of a lot of TikTok users in this country, and also to shape the content of what goes on to TikTok as well to suit the interests of the Chinese leadership. I think those are real challenges and a source of real concern,” he said.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called for a wider ban on TikTok, arguing that the app exposes minors to “violent, depraved, degrading sexual material,” and body image issues for young girls.

He said this was the kind of material Beijing would “never” let Chinese teenagers watch.

Burns’ warning about TikTok use comes as a new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that the app is pushing self-harm and eating disorder content onto children’s feeds.

Imran Ahmed, CEO of CCDH, insisted that TikTok was designed to influence young users into giving up their time and attention.

The app is “poisoning” children’s minds, promoting “hatred” of their own bodies, and pushing suggestions of self-harm and potentially deadly attitudes towards food, he stated.

“Parents will be shocked to learn the truth and will be furious that lawmakers are failing to protect young people from Big Tech billionaires, their unaccountable social media apps, and increasingly aggressive algorithms,” Ahmed said.

Last month, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Fox News that TikTok is an “enormous threat.”

He also admitted that former President Donald Trump was “right” about the danger the app posed.

“So, if you’re a parent, and you’ve got a kid on TikTok, I would be very, very concerned. All that data your child is inputting and receiving is being stored somewhere in Beijing.”