Dreyfus said in his statement that the decision, which was made as a result of the intelligence report prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, will be implemented “as soon as possible.” Although lawmakers can continue to use the video-sharing service on their personal phones under the provision, several – including Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews – have announced they will terminate their user accounts. The TikTok administration described the Australian government’s decision as politically motivated.
“There is no evidence that TikTok poses a security risk to Australians in any way, so it should not be treated differently from other social platforms,” said Lee Hunter, TikTok’s director of Australia and New Zealand.
With this decision, all countries of the five-member Five Eyes intelligence coalition—plus Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand—removed the splitter from government communication devices.
A similar measure was introduced by France, Belgium and the European Commission. There are concerns about the program Chinese authorities and secret services can collect data on TikTok or influence users through the app.
Relations between Australia and China have soured several times in recent years. Among other things, China resents the plans of the United States, Britain and Australia to supply Australia with the latest nuclear-powered attack submarines. Beijing has also repeatedly spoken out against security cooperation known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) formed by Australia, India, the United States and Japan.
Cover photo: Shutterstock
