UPDATE - Australia bans TikTok on official devices

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM CHINA; ADDS MORE DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Islamuddin Sajid

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Australian government on Tuesday banned its officials from using the Chinese video-sharing application TikTok on their devices.

China has protested the move, claiming that it is an overstretch of the concept of national security and abuse of state power.

Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he has authorized the issuance of a mandatory direction prohibiting the use of the Chinese app on devices used by Commonwealth departments and agencies.

"After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, today I 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," said Dreyfus.

"The direction will come into effect as soon as practicable," Dreyfus added.

In a reaction to the move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing that they "noted the reports and have made solemn démarches to the Australian side.”

“China always believes that digital security should not be used as a tool to suppress foreign companies in an overstretch of the concept of national security and abuse of state power. We urge Australia to earnestly observe the rules of market economy and the principle of fair competition, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies,” Mao said, according to a ministry statement.

However, the Australian attorney-general has said exemptions will only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security mitigations in place.

Australia was the last country in the “Five Eyes,” an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and US, to ban their officials from using Chinese app on their professional devices.

TikTok's officials in Australia called the decision "disappointing."

"We're extremely disappointed with this decision. In our view, this is driven by politics and not by fact," TikTok general manager in Australia, Lee Hunter, said.

*Islamuddin Sajid contributed to this report from Islamabad, Pakistan