China Warns Australia Against Treating TikTok ‘Differently From Other Social Media Platforms’

Earlier this week, Australia banned use of the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok on government electronic devices, following similar measures undertaken by Western countries over security concerns.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry has lashed out at Australia over its move to ban TikTok from all federal government-owned devices, adding that the decision affected the interests of both Australian businesses and the public.

"Australia treated TikTok differently from other social media platforms and adopted discriminatory restrictive measures, which are not conducive to maintaining Australia's national security," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement pointed out that China is urging Australia “to treat all types of enterprises fairly and justly, provide an open, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment, while creating a favorable atmosphere for the development of China-Australia economic and trade cooperation.”

This comes after Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said that after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, he had authorized the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department “to issue a mandatory direction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by Commonwealth departments and agencies.”

Dreyfus added that "exemptions will only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place."

Over the last months, TikTok access from government devices was banned in more than half of US states, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, as well as the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union due to security concerns about user data purportedly being accessed by the Chinese government. TikTok has vehemently rejected the allegations.