AEC gets the tick to join TikTok

Labor has given approval for the Australian Electoral Commission to join TikTok after the agency revealed it would become one of the first federal government agencies to create a profile on the Chinese-owned platform ahead of this year’s election.

The Australian Electoral Commission says it has created its profile on a stand-alone device for extra security. Picture: Tim Pascoe/NewsWire

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Labor has given the go ahead for the Australian Electoral Commission to join TikTok after the agency revealed it would become one of the first federal government agencies to create a profile on the Chinese-owned platform ahead of this year’s election.

Despite joining TikTok just a week ago, the AEC has already posted 15 videos urging young Australians to enrol, refuting the idea that voting for some parties or individuals is “a wasted vote” and walking viewers through the upper and lower house ballots.

The decision to join the app was made following a government direction in 2023 to federal agencies declaring TikTok posed “significant security and privacy risks to non-corporate commonwealth entities arising from extensive collection of user data and exposure to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law”.

According to the direction, published in April 2023, agencies “must prevent installation” of TikTok unless “a legitimate business reason exists which necessitates the installation or ongoing presence of the application”.

The AEC told The Australian it met the threshold for an exemption, given the upcoming election, and had taken the necessary precautions such as installing TikTok on a completely separate device.

The Home Affairs Department confirmed it had engaged with the AEC over its decision to join TikTok and gave the agency the tick to use the app.

“The AEC has engaged with the department to ensure that their risk management approach aligns to the appropriate mitigations outlined in (the) direction … for a legitimate business reason exemption,” a Home Affairs spokeswoman said.

TikTok screen grab from the Australian Electoral Commission

The AEC so far has just 227 followers, compared with the 4700 gained by Australia Post and the nearly 856,000 by the Australian Broadcasting Association.

While there are no other federal agencies with TikTok accounts, several MPs have joined the app including the leaders of both major parties.

Anthony Albanese currently has 21,000 followers on TikTok, while Peter Dutton has 29,000. Labor MP Julian Hill has the most of any federal politician with more than 145,000 followers.

When asked if the government was satisfied the AEC met the threshold for an exemption to join the app, a spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke indicated the agency had ensured it would not be creating any unnecessary risks by creating a profile.

“The AEC sought specific advice as to how they would be able to use TikTok without creating other risks, and they followed that to the letter,” the spokeswoman said.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson refused to comment.

TikTok screen grab from the Australian Electoral Commission

The Coalition decided to boycott the app after the 2022 election when the party was vocal about China’s foreign interference in Australia, but opposition MPs have rejoined TikTok in the past year given the need to win over younger voters and the Chinese diaspora.

Andrew Bragg, Michael Sukkar and Kevin Hogan are all on TikTok, while Labor ministers including Murray Watt, Anika Wells, Amanda Rishworth, Tanya Plibersek, Clare O’Neil, Ed Husic, Anne Aly, Chris Bowen and Mr Burke all have profiles.

Former Labor Party strategist Megan Lane said: “We are continuing to see a shift from Australian politicians and some government agencies into non-traditional news channels as the media landscape and electoral map continue to fragment.”