TikTok is immersed in one of the most complex moments in its short history. Australia has announced the decision to block the video app of Chinese origin on all official devices. A measure that the United States, the European Union, Canada, France or the United Kingdom have already taken in recent months.
Australian federal prosecutor Mark Dreyfus said in a statement collected by Australian media that the directive will be effective “as soon as possible.”
The Australian government notes that TikTok “poses significant security and privacy risks for non-corporate Commonwealth entities arising from the extensive collection of user data and exposure to extrajudicial instructions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law.” ».
The Oceanic Government’s decision comes after the application has been reviewed by its intelligence and security agencies. The directive will specifically affect official devices of state departments and agencies. Therefore, ordinary users will be able to continue using TikTok as normal.
Sources from the social network point out that Australia’s decision is “disappointing” and responds to “political reasons, not the facts.” Precisely, the same statements that the application has shared to refer to its prohibition on official devices in other territories.
Indeed, TikTok is in a delicate moment. Especially in the United States, where some lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, have spent weeks looking for a way to ban the app across the country. The reason? the growing concern that the Chinese government has access to user data, and that it could exploit it, among other things, to carry out coordinated disinformation campaigns.
