After similar decisions were made in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, Australia has become the latest country to ban TikTok on government devices. The move is in response to concerns over the security of the Chinese-owned platform.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus confirmed the ban on TikTok on government devices in a statement on Tuesday.
“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. The direction will come into effect as soon as practicable,” the statement read.
“Exemptions will only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place.
“The Government has recently received the Review into Foreign Interference through Social Media Applications and its recommendations remain under consideration.”
TikTok has long denied that there are any security risks posed by the app.
Lee Hunter, TikTok’s general manager in Australia, spoke to the ABC on Monday evening to say that he had not heard from the government regarding the decision.
“We’re extremely disappointed with this decision. In our view, this is driven by politics and not by fact,” Hunter said.
“And we’re also disappointed with the fact that TikTok and the millions of Australians who use it every day will find out about this decision through the media, despite repeated efforts from our end.
“We’re very keen to meet with [Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil] and anyone in government to explain the truth of the platform. We know that we have to work harder than other platforms because of the scrutiny we get,” he said.
Last month, WARC Media’s Future of Media report found that TikTok has become an integral digital and popular platform for brands, especially in the pursuit of reaching younger audiences.
See Also: WARC report forecasts TikTok’s global ad revenue will reach $15.2 billion in 2023
The report, part of WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit survey, found that 75% of marketers plan to increase their ad spend on TikTok this year, and that TikTok is set to reach $15.2 billion in global advertising revenue in 2023.