Call for Tik Tok to be banned amid warnings that China can ‘see you through your own camera’
- Barnaby Joyce criticizes TikTok as “intrusive and dangerous”
- ‘It’s a Chinese platform…someone is watching you’, slander
Australians should beware of ‘intrusive and dangerous’ viral video app TikTok, Barnaby Joyce has warned.
The former vice premier said he was concerned the Chinese-owned app had the ability to watch you use it.
“I don’t have TikTok on mine and because it’s a Chinese platform, certainly while you’re watching it someone is watching you or at least taking into account the data you use and how you use it,” he told Seven. .
“That gives them immense power, especially at election time, especially in matters of knowing, even with the GPS on your phone, if they can do it, they can find out where you are.
Barnaby Joyce attacked TikTok during a television interview amid growing calls from top politicians for the Chinese-backed app to be banned in Australia.
“We have also heard in the past that they may have the ability to observe you through your own camera.
“Now, that’s not for everyone, but for those that they think they’re very interested in, and this is incredibly intrusive and incredibly dangerous.”
An Home Affairs inquiry into social media platforms is expected to be returned to Minister Clare O’Neil in the coming weeks.
It is understood that the review will not consider a broad ban on any social media app for the everyday Australian and follows months of debate over whether the app should be allowed on government-issued devices.
A growing number of government departments have banned TikTok amid concerns about its owner ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government.
The former vice premier said he was concerned the Chinese-owned app had the ability to watch you use it.
Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned at a US Senate hearing that the Chinese government could use the viral video app to control software on millions of devices.
Belgium is the latest country to ban the app from government phones over cybersecurity concerns following action by Europe and the US.
TikTok is the first social media hit to come out of China and has more than 1 billion active users worldwide.
In Australia, it was the third most downloaded app in 2021 with an estimated reach of over seven million people.
ByteDance received an explanation last year after reports uncovered evidence that the company’s engineers in China repeatedly accessed US consumer data.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said it was important for people to know what they were signing up for when they downloaded apps like TikTok.
“With most of these apps, if it’s free and it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. You don’t get nothing for nothing these days,’ he said.
