Rita Panahi: Dan Andrews slow to act on TikTok ban despite serious espionage risk

It takes mere seconds to delete a TikTok account, yet Daniel Andrews’ massive social media team has failed to complete the simple and very necessary task, despite the espionage risk.

Dan Andrews vowed to quit his TikTok habit after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese belatedly followed our major allies in banning the Chinese-owned social media giant, amid concerns it poses an espionage risk.

Of course, the politically savvy PM waited until the Aston by-election was done before announcing the government-wide ban, well aware of the sensitivities around the issue for the Chinese-Australian community.

Aston is home to more than 22,000 Chinese residents, who make up close to 15 per cent of the electorate. The fact that the federal government had the Department of Home Affairs’ review of TikTok well before the Aston by-election, but declined to announce the ban until after, speaks volumes.

Dan Andrews, seen here in a TikTok clip, has vowed to quit the social media platform after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deactivated his account. Picture: TikTok

After all, the US and UK had already declared similar bans on TikTok after it became crystal clear that the app posed a significant security risk.

After the local ban – which applies to every federal government and department-issued device used by public servants including politicians – was announced, Premier Andrews pledged to delete his TikTok account which has more than 100,000 followers.

That was more than a week ago. Yet his account remains on the site. It takes mere seconds to delete the account and yet his massive social media team has failed to complete the simple and very necessary task.

The premier’s last post was on March 21 featuring a transgender “progress” flag being raised at Treasury Place to fly alongside two other LGBTQIA+ flags.

A number of public figures and corporations have abandoned ship from TikTok after safety concerns. Picture: AFP

The Victorian Liberal Party has also failed to delete its TikTok account which is full of election promises delivered in the most cringe-worthy fashion imaginable.

They have mercifully not posted in 2023, though senior Liberals, such as David Southwick, continue to be active on the site.

This week Sky News Australia deleted its account due to the security risks posed by the Beijing-controlled app. “TikTok is a spy network masquerading as a social media platform which has been proven to illegally pilfer the data of journalists, public citizens and politicians,” digital editor Jack Houghton wrote.

Social media is the digital public square; it’s how one in two of us access daily news and that number is growing by the day. As a social media enthusiast you can find me on Twitter and to a lesser extent on Instagram and Facebook but never on TikTok.

The risks associated with the platform were known well before the US, UK and now Australian governments banned the app on their devices.