National security concerns about TikTok are ramping up around the world.
The US and Canada are the latest to ban the Chinese-owned social media app on government-issued devices, citing espionage fears.
So how serious is the threat? And should TikTok users who don’t work for the government be worried too?
Why is the US blocking TikTok?
The White House said on Monday it was giving US federal agencies 30 days to delete TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices.
The reason?
Because of concerns that TikTok's parent company ByteDance would give user data — such as browsing history and location — to the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf.
The FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance could share TikTok user data with China's authoritarian government.
A law China implemented in 2017 requires companies to give the government any personal data relevant to the country’s national security.
In July 2022, TikTok admitted its staff in China were able to access Australian data in a response to a letter from Shadow Cyber Security Minister James Paterson.
"Our security teams minimise the number of people who have access to data and limit it only to people who need that access in order to do their jobs," wrote the company's Australian director of public policy, Brent Thomas.
"We have never provided Australian user data to the Chinese government, we have never been asked for Australian user data by the Chinese government, and we would not provide it if we were asked."
US nationwide TikTok ban bill expected to proceed
On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee was expected to move forward with a bill that would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok from all US devices.
That's an estimated 130 million US users.
A ban would require passage by the full House and the Senate before the President can sign it into law.
The legislation was proposed by Congressman Mike McCaul and looks to evade challenges the administration would face in court if it moved forward with sanctions against the company.
"My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten US national security," Mr McCaul said.
"Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the [Chinese Communist Party] a back door to all their personal information. It's a spy balloon into [their] phone."
When asked earlier in February if Washington would ban TikTok completely, Mr Biden responded: "I'm not sure. I know I don't have it on my phone."
The bill has received pushback from some organisations, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
In a letter sent Monday to Mr McCaul, it said a nationwide TikTok ban would be unconstitutional and would "likely result in banning many other businesses and applications as well".
Has TikTok responded?
TikTok said the concerns were fuelled by misinformation and has denied using the app to spy on Americans.
In December, TikTok commented on Congress' earlier moves to bar federal employees from using the app, saying it was "disappointed".
It called the move "a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests — rather than encouraging the administration to conclude its national security review".
The company has questioned the bans, saying it has not been given an opportunity to answer questions and that governments were cutting themselves off from a platform beloved by millions.
Could a TikTok ban happen in Australia?
"The Government is not currently considering a ban on TikTok," Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security, Clare O'Neil told 7.30 last week.
"TikTok is one of the most widely used apps in Australia, much beloved by Australia's young people in particular. It's not currently on the table."
Although some experts think we're not far off — like Patrik Wikstrom, Director of Queensland University of Technology's Digital Media Research Centre.
"Australia often follows these kinds of decisions made in the US," he said.
"I would not be surprised if the same thing happened here in Australia."
While Professor Wikstrom acknowledged TikTok has been at the forefront of multiple scandals, he also believed the bans stemmed from "suspicions".
"There are plenty of suspicions in the technology war between the US and China, where people don't trust the Chinese Communist Party," he said.
"But there hasn't been any evidence that TikTok is any worse than other major platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
"There have been instances where its employees have been involved in scandals, but they were ultimately dealt with and fired."
One of these scandals was from December 2022, when ByteDance said it fired four employees who accessed data on two journalists from Buzzfeed News and The Financial Times while attempting to track down the source of a leaked report about the company.
TikTok not the only Chinese-owned app Australians are using
Professor Wikstrom said there were a dozen other Chinese-owned platforms used by millions of Australians daily.
"WeChat and Weibo are two major ones. So does that mean you can't trust them either?" he said.
"It's like saying anything that is owned by a Chinese company cannot be on government phones. Where does it end?"
WeChat is a super-app from tech giant Tencent that has more than 1.2 billion global active users, about 1 million of which live in Australia.
Which other countries have recently implemented TikTok bans?
European Parliament
On Tuesday, the European Parliament banned TikTok from staff phones, following in the footsteps of the European Commission and the EU Council, which enforced bans last week.
The ban will start from March 20 and applies to corporate devices such as mobile phones and tablets enrolled in Parliament's mobile management application, a Parliament spokesperson said.
Canada
On Monday, Canada announced a ban on TikTok from government-issued devices, saying it presents an "unacceptable" level of risk to privacy and security, adding to the growing rift between the two countries.
The ban will take effect from Tuesday, according to a statement from Canada's Treasury Board, which oversees the public administration.
TikTok said the ban was issued "without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions," according to a spokesperson for the company.
EDITOR’S NOTE: 1/3/2023: The original version of this story incorrectly reported that employees at the Department of Home Affairs were restricted from using TikTok on their work phones. This has been corrected and changes made to clarify that the government is not currently considering a ban on TikTok.
ABC/wires
