(CNN) Australia has joined other Western countries in banning the use of TikTok on government devices as the Chinese-owned video app comes under increasing pressure over claims it poses a security issue.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus announced the ban on Tuesday after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, saying the directive would be imposed “as soon as possible”.
The decision puts Australia in line with its Five Eyes intelligence alliance allies – the US, UK and Canada have already announced similar restrictions, while New Zealand’s parliament also ordered the app removed from all devices with access to the legislature.
Norway and the European Parliament have taken similar steps, and last week NATO banned employees from downloading the app on NATO-provided devices, according to two NATO officials familiar with the matter.
So far, there is no evidence that the Chinese government has accessed TikTok user data, and no government has issued a broader ban on TikTok on personal devices.
However, the Biden government has threatened to do so in the United States unless the app’s Chinese owners, Bytedance, agree to spin off their stake in the social media platform.
The US government fears that China could use its national security laws to access the significant amount of personal data that TikTok, like most social media apps, collects from its US users.
During a high-profile congressional hearing on the matter, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled over the tech company’s alleged ties to the Chinese government.
Chew said the Chinese government has never asked TikTok for its data and the company would deny such a request.
For its part, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would “strongly oppose” any decision that would lead to a forced sale of TikTok, adding that it would “seriously damage” global investor confidence in the United States.