Australia's TikTok ban from govt devices opposed

Australia banned TikTok on Tuesday from all federal government-owned devices over so-called security concerns, becoming the latest United States-allied country to take action against the social media platform.

TikTok said it was extremely disappointed by Australia's decision, calling it "driven by politics, not by fact".

"We are extremely disappointed by this decision, which, in our view, is driven by politics, not by fact," the company's general manager for Australia, Lee Hunter, said in a statement.

"Again, we stress that there is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and should not be treated differently to other social media platforms."

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, in testimony before the US Congress last month, repeatedly denied accusations that the app shares data or has connections with the Chinese government.

With Australia's ban, all members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network — which consists of Australia, Canada, the US, the United Kingdom and New Zealand — have banned the app from government devices.

China has lashed out at the US for banning TikTok, saying it is an abuse of state power and is suppressing companies from other countries.

The move risks renewing diplomatic tensions between Australia and its largest trading partner after things eased somewhat since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office in May, Reuters commented.

On Monday, Wang Shouwen, China's vice-minister of commerce, also urged Canberra to "provide a fair, open and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises".

Agencies via Xinhua contributed to this story.