Why is everyone afraid of China? This fear is reflecting in the
“The TikTok application poses significant security and privacy risks to non-corporate Commonwealth entities, arising from an extensive collection of user data and exposure to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflicts with Australian law”
TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, has had an eventful year so far.
Last month, Mr Chew testified before the U.S Congress in a grueling five-hour session.
In the hearing, Mr Chew tried to assure lawmakers that Chinese authorities don’t have access to US users’ data.
Many countries have been concerned about the Chinese TikTok app.
They fear that their data is being shared with the Chinese government.
This had led to the ban of TikTok on official phones in some countries and the US is considering banning the app too.
However, Mr Chew has tried severally to assure everyone that the app does not share user data with the Chinese government.
“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” he says.
Project Texas
To ease the US government of their data security concerns, TikTok introduced ‘Project Texas’.
The project would not only assure the US government that their data is not being shared with the Chinese government. But, their data would also be stored in the US.
Mr Chew says “American data will be stored on American soil by an American company”.
Australia Ban
Now, Australia has joined a list of Western countries banning TikTok on official devices.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the move and said the prohibition will be implemented “as soon as practicable”.
breaking: attorney-general Mark Dreyfus confirms a ban on TikTok on Commonwealth government devices
"The direction will come into effect as soon as practicable. Exemptions will only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place" pic.twitter.com/WaVzqZ7rhk
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) April 4, 2023
In the announcement, Dreyfus said that the decision was taken “after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies”.
Additionally, Australia also made some changes to its Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF).
It notes that TikTok poses a security threat because of its data collection practices.
According to the directive, TikTok “poses significant security and privacy risks to non-corporate Commonwealth entities”.
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These risks arise “from an extensive collection of user data and exposure to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflicts with Australian law”.
The authorities said that it will allow the use of the short video app for “a legitimate business reason” and on a separate “standalone device”.
TikTok Reacts
Reacting to the ban, TikTok says it is disappointed in this politically motivated move.
“We are extremely disappointed by this decision, which, in our view, is driven by politics, not by fact,” the General Manager, TikTok Australia, and New Zealand, Lee Hunter, says.
“We are also disappointed that TikTok, and the millions of Australians who use it, were left to learn of this decision through the media, despite our repeated offers to engage with the government constructively about this policy.
“Again, we stress that 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.
“Our millions of Australian users deserve a government which makes decisions based upon facts and who treats all businesses fairly, regardless of country of origin,” he adds.
TikTok is currently under pressure to sell the company or risk a ban in even more countries.
