MOSCOW, Apr 4 Australia to ban TikTok app on all government devices, according to the Australian television channel ABC, citing a statement by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.
«After receiving recommendations from intelligence and security agencies, today I authorized the Secretary of the Attorney General's Office to issue a binding order in accordance with the system of protection and security policies to ban the TikTok application on devices issued by departments and agencies of the Commonwealth,» the TV channel quoted the statement as saying.
As noted, the ban will come into force «as soon as it becomes practically possible.»
Estonian authorities have previously announced that the TikTok app will be banned on mobile phones provided to Estonian officials by the state. Prior to this, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Safety recommended that officials refuse to install TikTok and Telegram on official devices for security reasons. Before that, it was reported that the Danish Ministry of Defense banned ministry employees from using TikTok on official mobile phones and other devices.
In addition, the British government has banned officials from using TikTok on official mobile phones. A similar ban on the use of TikTok on official mobile phones of government employees has been adopted in New Zealand and several US states. The decision to suspend the use of TikTok on corporate devices «for security reasons» was also taken by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.