State to follow federal government in banning Tik Tok on official devices

Popular social media app TikTok will be banned from all Queensland government devices, with the state confirming it will mirror a decision from the Commonwealth.

Popular social media app TikTok will be banned from all Queensland government devices, with the state confirming it will mirror a decision from the Commonwealth.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, asked in recent times about the future of TikTok on state government devices, said she would wait for direction from the federal government.

It was revealed late on Monday, then affirmed by federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Tuesday, that the Commonwealth had issued a mandatory order for TikTok to be banned from all government-issued devices “as soon as practicable”.

Ms Palaszczuk’s office confirmed on Tuesday afternoon Queensland would do the same and mirror the federal government’s official direction on the app.

The decision by the federal government comes after it received a report into the risks of foreign interference through social media apps, though the review recommendations are still being considered.

Security officials have raised concerns the Chinese Government could access data collected by TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China.

Under the federal direction, TikTok can only be installed on government devices under certain exemptions and even then must be “stored and secured” when not in use or allowed to be around sensitive conversations and information.

Government decisions have followed concerns about the risk of foreign interference through social media apps. Photo: LOIC VENANCE/AFP

TikTok general manager Australia and New Zealand, Lee Hunter told News Corp on Monday night the company was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.

“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 government constructively about this policy,” he said.

“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.”

Mr Hunter said TikTok’s millions of Australian users deserved a government which treated all businesses fairly, “regardless of country of origin”.

It was revealed last week Queensland MPs had been told to use taxpayer funds to buy a secondary phone exclusively to use social media apps like TikTok amid privacy concerns.

Queensland’s Parliamentary Services, in emails to MPs in recent months, confirmed it had changed the rules so electorate allowances can be used to buy a secondary mobile strictly for social media use “in response to recent cyber security risks”.

A spokesman for the Speaker’s office noted other jurisdictions had already advised MPs to use a second smartphone for social media to “eliminate the risk of information on the main phone from being potentially accessed by malicious apps”.