November 23, 2024 00:23 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
UK can arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits country based on ICC warrant | Centre to send over 10,000 additional soldiers to violence-hit Manipur amid fresh violence | Chhattisgarh: 10 Maoists killed during encounter with security forces in Sukma | Baba Siddique murder case: Arrested Akashdeep Gill used a labourer's hotspot to evade tracking, say police | Donald Trump picks 'smart and tough' Pam Bondi as new US Attorney General after Matt Gaetz withdraws
TikTok might be banned on Australian government devices
TikTok Ban
Unsplash

TikTok might be banned on Australian government devices

| @indiablooms | 04 Apr 2023, 08:33 am

Sydney: The Australian government has decided to ban use of Chinese company owned Tiktok on devices used by federal departments and agencies, media reports said on Tuesday.

Australia becomes the last nation in the "five eyes" intelligence alliance to block the app, following similar decisions by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, reports Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the ban would come into effect "as soon as practicable".

He said exemptions would be granted on a case-by-case basis.

"After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, today I authorised the secretary of the Attorney-General's Department to issue a mandatory direction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by Commonwealth departments and agencies," he said in a statement as quoted by ABC.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Victorian and ACT governments confirmed to the ABC that they expected an imminent ban.

"We've always said we'll follow the Commonwealth's guidance when it comes to cybersecurity – and we'll now work on implementing these changes across the public service as soon as possible," a spokesperson for Premier Daniel Andrews said.

A spokesperson from the ACT government said the territory government would work with the Commonwealth to adopt restrictions.

"The ACT government was notified yesterday of an imminent announcement from the Commonwealth to ban TikTok from Government devices," they said in a statement as quoted by ABC.

"Based on the Commonwealth's advice, and the desirability of national cybersecurity consistency, the ACT government will consider similar restrictions on territory government devices at a security and emergency management meeting of Cabinet tomorrow."

TikTok has continuously denied that the app may be a threat to national security.

TikTok's general manager in Australia Lee Hunter on Monday evening told ABC he had not heard from the government.

"We're extremely disappointed with this decision. In our view, this is driven by politics and not by fact," Hunter told ABC.

Hunter told ABC there was no evidence that TikTok posed any security risk to ordinary Australians.

"We're very keen to meet with [Minister O'Neil] and anyone in government to explain the truth of the platform. We know that we have to work harder than other platforms because of the scrutiny we get," he said.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Related Images
Xi Jinping, Putin in Russia 22 Mar 2023, 02:56 pm
Related Videos