TikTok has come beneath scrutiny in Australia, because the Chinese language-owned social media platform is being investigated for any dangers it could pose to customers from potential international interference and information privateness points, authorities sources advised Reuters.
Owned by Bytedance, TikTok opened an workplace in Australia in latest weeks. Workplaces of each the Dwelling Affairs and Lawyer-Normal are discussing TikTok’s operations, the sources mentioned.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison mentioned his authorities was “having look” at TikTok, which has additionally fallen beneath US scrutiny for “nationwide safety dangers”.
“If we contemplate there’s a must take additional motion than we’re taking now, then I can inform you we cannot be shy about it,” Morrison advised Melbourne radio station 3AW on Friday.
Individually, Labor Senator Jenny McAllister, the chairwoman of a parliamentary inquiry into international interference by means of social media, has recognized TikTok as needing additional scrutiny, noting 1.6 million younger Australians used the app.
“A few of these approaches to moderating content material could be inconsistent with Australian values,” she advised ABC radio.
“For instance, eradicating materials about Tiananmen Sq., or deprioritising materials about Hong Kong protests,” she added, referring to scholar protests in Beijing in 1989 and pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong over the previous yr.
Two of the three administrators of the brand new Australian TikTok operation are senior executives of Chinese language dad or mum firm ByteDance, firm information seen by Reuters present.
TikTok Australia normal supervisor Lee Hunter, who was recruited from Google in June, has written to Australian politicians saying TikTok was “getting used as a political soccer”.
It was “important you perceive that we’re unbiased and never aligned with any authorities, political occasion or ideology”, the letter mentioned, including TikTok Australia’s information was saved securely in Singapore and america.
Final week, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared with an impersonator in a video posted on the extremely fashionable social media app.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
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