New laws cracking down on social media apps due to security concerns need to extend beyond TikTok to stop a future “whack-a-mole” situation, a federal inquiry has heard.
A parliamentary committee examining the risks to democracy from foreign interference through online platforms was told that while the Chinese-owned TikTok was an issue, other platforms in the future may also need to be addressed.
Lindsay Gorman from the Alliance for Securing Democracy told the inquiry broader laws during the app’s infancy could have addressed foreign interference issues.
“I do not think a platform-by-platform approach is remotely effective, as we’re seeing with TikTok today,” she said.
“If we had this comprehensive framework that we recommended in place years ago, we would have addressed TikTok back in 2019 or 2020, and we will be ready for the next one because it’s absolutely a game of whack-a-mole if we’re taking it platform-by-platform.”
Ms Gorman said similar concerns are emerging about a new app being launched by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, and addressing issues with TikTok may not cover other platforms yet to emerge.
The federal government has followed the lead of other western countries and banned TikTok from government devices, due to concerns regarding the links between ByteDance and the Chinese government, along with how data is being used.
TikTok denies it is harvesting sensitive data or is a national security risk.
Ms Gorman said China along with other authoritarian governments were using social media to assert influence.
“Social media is best understood as one element in a broader toolkit to influence and interfere in democratic institutions and to control and weaponise the information environment,” she said.
The inquiry also heard from Human Rights Watch researchers, who said a possible crackdown on WeChat would disproportionately affect Chinese-Australians who use the messaging app.
Senior China researcher Yaqiu Wang said self-censorship was common on the app due to concerns WeChat was being monitored by the Chinese government.
She said the federal government needed to take steps to make the app more transparent.
“Make the companies transparent, force them to disclose the stuff they censor and promote, then let’s go from there,” she said.
“It’s a critical tool for communication between the diaspora and with China, so let’s not go to the ban.”
– AAP
