Australia bans TikTok on official devices
ANKARA: The Australian government on Tuesday decided to ban its officials from using the video sharing app TikTok on their devices.
In a statement, Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said he approved a mandatory order prohibiting departments and agencies from installing the Chinese app on devices, Anadolu Agency reported.
“After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, I today authorized the secretary of the Attorney General’s Department to issue a mandatory directive under the Safeguard Security Policy Framework banning TikTok applications on devices belonging to Commonwealth departments and agencies.
“The directive will take effect as soon as possible,” Dreyfus said.
He said exemptions will only be given according to specific cases.
Australia has become the last country in the “Five Eyes”, an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, to ban their officials from using TikTok on their official devices.
TikTok officials in Australia described the decision as “disappointing.”
“We are disappointed with this decision. In our view, it is driven by politics and not facts,” according to ABC news quoting the general manager of TikTok in Australia, Lee Hunter.
