Australia to ban TikTok from government devices
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Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has said the government is intent on banning officials from installing TikTok on office devices in the near future.
“After receiving recommendations from the intelligence and security agencies, today I authorized the Secretary of the Attorney General’s Department to issue a mandatory security policy order to ban the TikTok app on devices issued by departments and agencies in the country,” Mr. Dreyfus is quoted as saying. sky news. The ban itself will be implemented “as soon as possible”.
Australia has become the latest member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (which also includes the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand) to impose a full or partial ban on the installation of the TikTok app. In addition, it was previously forbidden to install TikTok on office phones and European Commission.
All countries that have imposed restrictions on TikTok cite the potential national security threat posed by the app. Authorities fear that TikTok, owned by ByteDance, may be sharing user data with the Chinese government. The company denies all allegations. Reacting to Australia’s decision to ban TikTok installations, the company said the ban is purely policy and not security. According to company representatives, all user data in Australia and New Zealand is stored in the US and Singapore, and access to it is tightly controlled.
“There is no evidence that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and that it should be treated differently than other social networks,” said Lee Hunter, general manager of TikTok Australia and New Zealand. He added that the company has never shared data with the Chinese government and does not intend to do so, even if asked to do so.
Previously reportedthat TikTok is willing to consider a spinoff from parent company ByteDance in China if such a move would help appease US authorities.
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