Australia banned the use of the Chinese social network Tik Tok on mobile phones and government devices for cybersecurity reasons and fears of possible “foreign interference”, announced Tuesday its attorney general, Mark Dreyfus.
The attorney general made the decision “after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies”points out in a statement, after the recent statement by the director of the Intelligence service, Mike Burgess, who pointed out in front of a Senate committee that social networks are used to “disseminate disinformation.”
Dreyfus added that the ban will take effect “as soon as possible”, and clarified that his office will only allow exceptions to the installation of this short video application “on a case-by-case basis and with adequate security measures” to avoid any risk of data theft. data.
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For private users and companies, the Attorney General has recommended “access recommendations” published on a government portal.
Australia’s move follows in the footsteps of other countries and blocks that have imposed restrictions on the use of Tik Tok such as the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the European Union amid fears that the Chinese authorities could violate the right to privacy of through the data collected in this application.
TikTok, an application launched in September 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance that allows you to make short videos with mobile devices with millions of views, is one of the favorites of young people around the world as a distraction or to obtain news information.
Australia has maintained tense relations with China since 2018, which it is trying to normalize, as a result of the previous Conservative government vetoing the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from participating in the 5G network of the oceanic country.
The oceanic country also maintains strict laws and security measures against foreign interference, with a spotlight on Beijing for a long time on suspicion that the Asian giant is trying to influence its domestic policy.
In February, the Australian Government decided to remove from its buildings almost a thousand security cameras manufactured by the Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua, linked to the Chinese Communist Party, at the risk of being used for espionage.