Australia joins UK, Belgium to ban TikTok on government-owned devices

Australian authorities have banned the Chinese-owned social network TikTok on all government-owned devices amid growing security concerns and fears that the nation’s official information may fall into the wrong hands.
The ban, announced on Tuesday, will be effective “as soon as practicable,” according to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who added that rare exemptions would only be authorised on a “case-by-case basis” with “appropriate security mitigations in place.”
Australia was the last of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance’s five nations to ban TikTok on government-owned devices after the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand previously issued similar orders.
Countries like the European Commission, France and the Netherlands also banned the social network on official devices in their nations.
Lee Hunter, general manager of TikTok operations in New Zealand and Australia, said there was no proof that the social network was leaking users’ vital information to the Chinese government.
“There is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and should not be treated differently to other social media platforms,” said Mr Hunter in a statement.
Last month, the company’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, testified before the U.S. Congress that TikTok was not sharing users’ data with the Chinese government.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

States
ISWAP chief photographer, other media team members killed in sustained military operations
The spokesperson said several other key fighters sustained severe injuries as they fled under intense military pressure.

Heading 2
New Jersey registered 6,600 non-citizens as voters in error: Governor SherrillÂ
The governor attributed the error to a software glitch in the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission.

Abuja
Three Abuja security guards in court over alleged theft of scaffold pipes worth N1.8 million
The prosecutor said that the offence is contrary to Sections 79 and 289 of the Penal Code.

NationWide
Navy hands over two rescued victims of human traffickers to NAPTIP
Mr Folorunsho said that the handover was conducted by Forward Operating Base (FOB) BADAGRY, on July 19 at the agency’s Lagos Zonal Command in Ikeja.

States
Insecurity: Tinubu approves establishment of army battalion in Kwara
The battalion will be stationed in Omu-Aran, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area.

World
Saudi oil tankers make U-turn in Red Sea as Houthi militants threaten attack
Three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday following a threatened attack from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia.





