Federal government plans to ban TikTok on its devices

Patterson, a Liberal Party senator and a hawkish critic of the Chinese Communist Party, said the government should move quickly.

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“The Albanian government needs to stop holding back and join its closest allies in banning TikTok from government-issued devices. Patterson said. “They also need to step up to ensure that the solutions developed by the Biden administration, including the forced sale, apply to Australian users as well.”

The Albanian government recognizes it may have to change its policy response if the Biden administration forces ByteDance to sell TikTok, and the process unfolding in the United States is complicating the Interior Ministry’s review. increase.

Australian officials have been in contact with the Biden administration as a review, First published on this masthead and Expected to be delivered within a few weekshas taken shape.

The government has said it has no intention of outright banning the app, and in the United States, given the challenges of running a social media network, the potential backlash from Chinese authorities, and the associated costs, the company was sold. It’s not clear who will buy TikTok in the case.

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A TikTok spokesperson rejected the ban claim. “We believe the push for the ban is based on a fundamental misunderstanding and is driven by broader geopolitics that TikTok is not involved in,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to continuing to work with the government to address our concerns, but we ask that you be judged on the facts and treated on a par with our competitors.”

The spokesman added that the sale would not serve national security. “Changes in ownership do not impose new restrictions on data flow or access. It is transparently protected by a strong third-party oversight, review and verification, which is already in place.”

Katherine Manstead, director of cyber intelligence and public policy at Australian firm CyberCX, says governments are often forced to make decisions about digital security without a “fingerprint.”

“We often take risks, future risks, and…in the case of TikTok, its parent company is linked to the Chinese government because of China’s dictatorship and China’s very strict laws on sharing data with the government. Other governments around the world are looking at and assessing the risks.”

Manstead, who is also a senior fellow at ANU’s National Security College, said banning TikTok on government-issued phones would be welcome, but other measures could help protect the wider community. Stated.

“This will allow the country to have an open and public conversation about the risks associated with using social media,” she said. “Traditionally, many of these conversations about foreign interference, disinformation, and national security risks take place behind closed doors.”

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