Federal ministers, premiers and independent MPs use burner phones as TikTok ban nears and Clare O’Neil handed security review

Ministers, premiers, independent MPs are using burner phones to run the Chinese-owned app, likely to be banned from gov­ernment devices.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Federal cabinet ministers, premiers and independent MPs are using burner phones to use the Chinese-owned app ­TikTok, which a review is expected to recommend banning from all official government devices.

A security review into social media has been handed to Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and is widely expected to recommend a ban, bringing Australia into line with the US, Britain and New Zealand.

Ms O’Neil has received the widely anticipated report and is considering the findings of the review she initiated last year following concerns about the app, the harvesting of personal and sensitive data, and the potential for Chinese government officials to access it. It is unlikely to recommend politicians delete the app from their personal devices.

Bans are already in place in many government departments.

 

Ms O’Neil confirmed the government had received the review and was considering its recommendations, but said any decision to have the app officially deleted would be applied through the ­Attorney- General’s office.

“We are working to undo the years of inaction under the previous government, which failed to act or even provide advice about these issues as they developed,” Ms O’Neil told The Australian.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and West Australian leader Mark McGowan have grown large audiences on the ­social media platform, which exploded in popularity during the Covid pandemic for its viral song and dance challenges.

Almost 3.2 million Australians are active on the Chinese-owned video sharing platform which ­allows people to film, edit and share short films.

The most popular Australian politician on the platform is federal Labor MP Julian Hill, who has amassed close to 147,000 followers and whose videos have ­received more than 2.3 million “likes”. A Victorian backbencher who sits on parliament’s nat­ional security and intelligence committee, Mr Hill accesses the app using what he calls a “red phone”, which has “always been remote from anything that can be remotely sensitive”.

Some of the federal government’s most senior ministers are active on TikTok in a bid to access younger audiences and share ­stories about their portfolios.

“I realised my kids were getting a lot of information from TikTok so I figured I should be there – to talk to people about politics and the world, especially young people,” Ms Plibersek told The Australian. “I don’t have TikTok on my phone or work device.”

Mr Shorten, who boasts more than 12,300 followers, said he signed up to “move with the times” and to reach more online communities.

“It’s really important to me that I’m engaged with the disability community; to keep them updated with the NDIS and gain their insights on lived experience. I also use TikTok and social media to share good news stories of people with disabilities and to platform their voices,” he said.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson hates TikTok but her ­disdain for the platform isn’t obvious to her 15,700 fans.

“We hate it. Absolutely hate it. We use a private phone that’s so old and doesn’t even have a SIM card. We have to be in that space though to speak to younger audiences,” Senator Hanson said.

Some of her videos have been viewed close to 340,000 times, and a recent clip of her speaking in the Senate about ending discrimination against men received more than 35,000 comments.

Senator Hanson also uses it as a vehicle to promote her online cartoon series, Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain.

As well as security concerns, she also dislikes how TikTok censors certain content, including an animation of the Prime Minister in the shower.

“We had to re-edit a clip from the cartoon after it was taken down for showing a cartoon version of (Anthony) Albanese’s bare behind,” she said.

Former Greens senator turned independent Lidia Thorpe is prolific on the platform. A video of her at a Senate inquiry hearing last year has been viewed more than 432,000 times and attracted 16,000 comments.

The Australian contacted Senator Thorpe about her TikTok use on Monday.

State leaders are also gaining traction on the app. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has more than 109,000 followers, and WA’s Mr McGowan has close to 40,000 fans despite posting just nine videos since 2021.

Mr McGowan has since sought advice on the safety of using TikTok from the federal government.

“The WA government is committed to protecting the community through strong cyber security measures,” a government spokesman said.

TikTok responded late on Monday to suggestions the platform was likely to be banned from government-issued devices, telling The Australian the app in no way posed a security risk to ­Australians.

It also claimed that while it had been consulted by the Department of Home Affairs as part of the review, it had no contact from the Albanese government.

“We have attempted to engage with the Albanese government, but the government has refused to engage with us,” TikTok ­Australian and New Zealand ­general manager Lee Hunter said in a statement.

“The government’s failure to consult with us about this apparent decision would be deeply concerning to TikTok’s millions of Australian users, as well as businesses across the country. There is not a single piece of evidence to suggest TikTok is in any way a sec­urity risk to Australians.”