Australia to ban TikTok on government-issued devices

Australia joins the list of countries that will ban the use of TikTok on government devices. The move to ban comes after the Chinese-owned app faces scrutiny due to security concerns. Specifically, there are concerns about TikTok and that China’s government could use the Beijing-based company to harvest user data and possibly even spy on users.

There’s no specific date on when the ban will be imposed. According to Australia’s Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, the directive would be imposed “as soon as practicable”.

With Australia banning Tiktok on government devices as well, it is the last of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance comprising Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States to do so. NATO and other European countries such as Norway have also made similar moves. Recently, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew even testified in the US as part of a congressional hearing on the matter.

TikTok has since denied claims that the app is a security risk for users and insists its data will never be shared with the Chinese government.