Andrew Barr confirms ACT government considering TikTok ban on work devices

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has confirmed the territory government will listen to the security advice but said he was "not waging a war against TikTok" in light of recent warnings.

The United Kingdom overnight confirmed it will join the Canada, the US and the European Union in banning the social media app on government phones over concerns user data could end up being harvested by the Chinese government due to its national security laws.

A Canberra Times analysis this month revealed half of federal government agencies had already prohibited the use of TikTok on work-issued devices despite no blanket ban being issued.

The federal government is expected to be handed a review by the Home Affairs Department into the risks posed by social media apps, including TikTok, by the end of March.

The security discussions have prompted state and territory governments to consider whether they should follow suit with the issue under active consideration by the NSW and Victorian governments.

An ACT government spokesperson told The Canberra Times it was "currently considering" whether social media applications should remain on work devices "in light of recent focus on the risks that these apps may introduce".

Mr Barr said on Thursday the ACT government would follow suit on removing TikTok from ACT government-issued mobile phones if the territory was advised to do so.

Mr Barr acknowledged work was under way across states and territories to assess whether the video-sharing social media app, which is owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, posed a risk when installed on government smartphones.

"We're certainly not holding out a flame that the ACT will be the only government that allows TikTok on phones, but equally I'm not waging a war against TikTok," Mr Barr said.

"We'll listen to the advice and if there is a security risk that our mobile device platforms can't currently accommodate and it means the app shouldn't be on any government phone, then I'd take that advice, and it would just be removed."

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Mr Barr said the ACT understood the issues surrounding the application, which has been banned from phones issued by a range of federal government agencies.

"We have a pretty strict operating protocol around government devices and what can sit on those platforms, and our ICT security team will provide further advice on that," he said.

Mr Barr said there was a range of issues that needed to be considered, including whether government staff used work and private phones and whether any information was shared between the two devices, such as emails.

The ACT government spokesperson said there would be exemptions for some within government, if certain apps were to be banned.

"While social media apps are an important tool for ACT government to collaborate with the community, we are assessing their risk and will advise accordingly," the spokesperson said.

"Should any further action be considered [or] needed, MLAs and other business units would be able to seek exemptions based on having a defined need and agreed protocols and configurations."

Data security concerns relating to the app have been a topic of discussion for years but further ramped up after it was revealed TikTok employees had spied on a Forbes journalist in December after she published a series of exposes on the app.

The company fired US and Chinese employees, who had improperly attempted to use the journalist's IP address to ascertain which sources she had been meeting with.

In Australia, bans on downloading TikTok to work phones have already been in place at the Defence and Home Affairs departments since 2020 and 2021.