Dozens of federal departments have banned the use of TikTok at work. 

TikTok, the viral video app owned by the Chinese multinational company ByteDance, has been banned by 25 Australian federal agencies and departments on work-issued devices. 

An audit by Liberal senator James Paterson revealed the inconsistent approach of Australian federal government departments, with 12 partially banning the app, 11 permitting its use, and five failing to respond. 

Concerns have arisen over TikTok’s links to the Chinese Communist Party’s National Intelligence Law of 2017, which requires organisations and citizens to “support, assist and co-operate with the state intelligence work,” and the admission that employees in China can access certain data of millions of Australian users. 

While the Australian Government is considering its advice on social media platforms, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has ruled out a complete ban.

More details are accessible here.