Australian government departments have gone their own way on whether or not to ban TikTok on government devices, after the home affairs minister decided against implementing a ban across the entire public service.
The United States, Canada and several other nations have all recently imposed bans on the social media app being used on government devices, out of concerns that the data can be accessed in China and, so, is subject to Chinese national intelligence laws.
In Australia, more than a dozen departments and agencies — including the Education Department, Finance, the National Disability Insurance Agency and the Australian Electoral Commission — have banned the app outright, while a number have told Shadow Cyber Security Minister James Paterson they have instituted partial bans.
Home Affairs, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs have previously confirmed bans in their departments.
So far, 11 departments and agencies have not placed any restrictions on using TikTok, including Australia Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the CSIRO, which says it will soon ban the app.
Treasury, Housing and the Social Services Department have not confirmed whether or not they impose bans on use of the app, while the Attorney-General's Department said it does not use TikTok for government business, and restricts services as required.
The federal government has not ruled out banning the app on government devices, but is awaiting the outcome of a review into the cybersecurity implications of all social media use in the public service, which is due in coming weeks.
Senator Paterson — who quizzed the departments over a number of months — said he had called on the government to develop a plan since July 2022, when TikTok admitted Australian data was accessible in China.
"In the eight months since all the government has done is seek advice about the risks posed by the app," Senator Paterson said.
"Since then, our closest security partners and like-minded jurisdictions — including the United States, Canada, Denmark and the European Union — have banned the app from government devices."
The federal government has considered banning TikTok since 2020, when then-prime minister Scott Morrison said there was not enough evidence to suggest a ban was necessary.
Senator Paterson pointed to reports in December, 2022, that staff at TikTok's parent company Bytedance had accessed the data of journalists who were writing stories critical of the company.
At least four workers at Bytedance in both the US and China improperly accessed journalist data to track their physical movements in an effort to determine if they had been in the same location as employees suspected of leaking confidential information.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation does not restrict TikTok from being installed on work devices.
In a statement, a spokesperson for TikTok noted restrictions on digital services in Commonwealth agencies applied to a range of apps, not just TikTok, pointing to the Social Services Department, which has also restricted use of WeChat, Snapchat and Whatsapp for its workers.
The company's chief operating officer has been critical of bans in the US, saying they gave into anti-Chinese sentiment and had been applied unevenly across the industry.
Senator Paterson said the government must end its "haphazard and inconsistent" approach to the app.
"The risks posed by this app have been apparent for some time," he said.
"The Albanese government must now finally act. TikTok should be banned on all federal government devices unless exceptional circumstances exist."
