News of the Cyber World

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TikTok Banned on Australian Government Devices

The Australian government has banned the social media app Tiktok from all government devices following a security review by Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neil amid ongoing international concern.

The ban, which was announced on April 4 by Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, will prohibit any government-issued devices used by politicians and public servants from installing the social media app.

Dreyfus said in a statement that 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,” Dreyfus said.

“The direction will come into effect as soon as practicable.”

However, he noted that possible exemptions will be granted on a “case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place.”

The move brings Australia into line with its Five Eyes allies and nine other countries and multinational organisations, including the UK, the United States, India, Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Pakistan and the EU.

Concerns around Tik Tok security have risen after the company admitted last year that employees of its parent company, ByteDance, spied on U.S. journalists from Forbes who were investigating the company.