Time’s up on TikTok and national security threat

Anthony Albanese has been too quick to dismiss concerns in the US about the dangers inherent in social media platform TikTok’s links to the Chinese Communist Party. The national security implications of allowing China to harvest private and business data, and manipulate the online experience of millions of users, must not be underestimated. TikTok is only part of a much bigger challenge posed by social media but China is and must be treated as a special case.

The fact that TikTok is banned for use on Australian government devices speaks volumes about the level of official concern. In April last year, on advice from intelligence and security agencies, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus issued a mandatory direction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by commonwealth departments and agencies. Exemptions are granted only on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place. The ban was imposed after the federal government received a Senate review into foreign interference through social media applications.

The use of social media by Beijing to monitor and control members of the Chinese diaspora and to interfere in the electoral process are well documented. The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that would either force China-based tech giant ByteDance to sell TikTok or ban the short-video app in the US. The vote marks a major escalation of tensions between politicians and the social media platform, which boasts more than 170 million US users. The bill won approval in the House on Wednesday by a 352-65 vote. President Joe Biden said he would sign the bill if approved by congress.

Banning TikTok raises difficult issues about freedom of speech. But it is instructive to consider that while most major international social media networks remain banned from the Chinese market, Chinese social media companies have expanded overseas and built up large global audiences. A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute found that TikTok engaged in censorship on a range of political and social topics, while also demoting and suppressing content. ByteDance, which owns and operates TikTok, is subject to China’s security, intelligence, counterespionage and cybersecurity laws. Internal Communist Party committees are in place to ensure the party’s political goals are pursued alongside the company’s commercial goals. TikTok argues its US operations are not controlled by China, but politicians do not agree.

The TikTok issue has a long way to run but it again puts a spotlight on how free nations increasingly are seeking to protect information flows from potentially malicious state actors. Another example is the UK government’s plan to ban foreign governments from owning British newspapers and magazines, effectively blocking an Abu Dhabi-led takeover of The Daily and Sunday Telegraph. The TikTok ban also demonstrates the degree to which individuals and businesses become captive to social media platforms that effectively own and control what should rightly be intellectual property that belongs to users.

This is an issue that extends beyond TikTok to other social media groups, and it must be dealt with. Mr Albanese is correct to say that using TikTok is not compulsory but this misunderstands the size and extent of the potential problem. The Australian government must follow closely what is happening in the US and be prepared to act.