Australia bans the use of TikTok on government devices

Australia has made the decision to ban the use of TikTok In government agencies due to fear of possible “foreign interference”, as announced by Attorney General Mark Dreyfuss.

The decision was made “after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies” and comes after Secret Service Director Mike Burgess explained to a Senate committee that social networks are being used to “spread misinformation”.

The implementation of this measure will enter into force “as soon as possible”. And Dreyfus explained that his office would only allow exceptions to install TikTok “on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security measures in place to prevent any risk of data theft.”

The attorney general also provided advice to private users and companies. Specifically, “access recommendations” posted on a government portal to avoid greater evils.

Australia is not the first country to do so.

This measure follows in the footsteps of other countries that have imposed restrictions on TikTok such as the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the European Union.

the reason? Fear that the Chinese authorities May violate the right to privacy Thanks to the data collected by the app.

TikTok is a Chinese app that was launched in 2016 by ByteDance and is one of the favorite apps for young people to consume entertainment or even learn about anything.

Australia has had strained relations with China since 2018 after the previous government banned Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE from participating in the peripheral country’s 5G network.

In addition, it maintains strict security laws and measures against foreign interference, suspecting that the Asian giant is trying to influence its domestic politics.

As they indicated in RTVELast February, the Australian government made the decision to remove nearly a thousand security cameras from its premises made by Hikvision and Dahua, two Chinese companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party, for fear that they could be used for espionage.