TikTok was dealt fresh setbacks Tuesday as Australia joined a list of Western nations banning the Chinese-owned apps from government devices and Britain fined it for allowing children under 13 to use the social media platform.
The popular video-sharing app has come under growing pressure in Western countries, with the United States urging TikTok to split from its Chinese parent company, Bytedance.Britain's data regulator said it fined TikTok £12.7 million for allowing up to 1.4 million children under 13 to use the platform in violation of its own rules.
"There are laws in place to make sure our children are as safe in the digital world as they are in the physical world," he said."TikTok did not abide by those laws."Last month, Italy's competition watchdog opened an investigation into TikTok for failing to enforce its own rules on removing"dangerous content" related to suicide and self-harm."We will continue to review the decision and are considering next steps," the company said in a statement.
Australia is the last member of the secretive Five Eyes security alliance to pursue a government TikTok ban, joining the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the decision followed advice from the country's intelligence agencies and would begin"as soon as practicable".
Surveys have estimated that as many as seven million Australians use the app -- or about a quarter of the population. "China has always maintained that the issue of data security should not be used as a tool to generalise the concept of national security, abuse state power and unreasonably suppress companies from other countries," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.Fergus Ryan, an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said stripping TikTok from government devices was a"no-brainer".
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Australia becomes 7th country to ban TikTok on government devicesAustralia banned TikTok from government-issued devices, joining the growing list of nations concerned about security threats posed by the Chinese-owned social media platform.
Read more »
Australia bans TikTok on government devices over security concernsAustralia bans TikTok on government devices over security concerns: Australia banned TikTok on Tuesday from all federal government-owned devices over security concerns, becoming the latest US-allied country to take action against the Chinese-owned video…
Read more »
Buy-to-let bounces back strongly, particularly in the Western Cape[LISTEN] Alan Rubin from Ooba outlines the pros and cons of borrowing to buy a property for short-term rental, particularly to tourists on MoneywebNow with SimonPB. Download the podcast below. Moneyweb Property
Read more »
Finland to join NATO on Tuesday | News24Finland will join NATO on Tuesday, marking the completion of a swift journey into the military alliance for the Nordic nation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials said.
Read more »