TikTok ban: Political staffers could be forced to remove the app, with Labor and Greens most affected

Politicians aren’t the only people who want TikTok erased from their phones — and hundreds of staffers are likely to bear the brunt of the decision, too.

The decision to ban TikTok from government devices was signed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week.

There are no official guidelines yet on whether national or state bans will apply to all officials using government-issued phones, but political insiders told Daily Mail Australia they expect this to be the case.

And Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said nurses, teachers and other government employees are also likely to be affected if they have government telephones.

“Most politicians I know already choose not to have TikTok on their phones, but they have teams of employees who post on their behalf and manage these accounts.

“If we’re told to remove the app then of course that’s what we’ll do, we don’t have much advice that those ministers get but we’ll follow the guidelines.

“It will affect how we can do our jobs on a daily basis.”

Treasury Secretary Katy Gallagher said Tuesday afternoon that the ban extends to contractors using government-issued phones.

“There would be some contractors who would have government-issued devices as part of their job and of course that would apply to them,” she said.

“Furthermore, I would have to come back with advice from the Attorney General, but certainly if they are using a device issued by the government or connected to the government facilities, it is required.”

During the last federal election campaign, many politicians took advantage of the app’s popularity to connect with young voters.

“It’s how we communicate and engage,” an insider said. “We’re able to say something to these young people in lay terms and it’s been really important.”

TikTok helped spark interest in politics among Gen Z (people born after 1997) and proved to be the most successful method of engaging young voters.

Andrews and Federal MP Bill Shorten are among the most prolific Australian politicians using the app.

Both men have now confirmed they will stop using it altogether in an effort to support the government’s position.

Mr Shorten said: “I’ve already given up on a government phone, but I’m happy to give up on the issue of TikTok if we’re to lead by example.”

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said last week that she would no longer want to use the app on her personal phone because it is such an effective way to communicate with voters.

Labour, the Greens and a host of independents will be the biggest losers from this decision as they feature much more prominently on the app than liberal counterparts.

The likes of Pauline Hanson, Lidia Thorpe, Julian Hill, Fatima Payman, Jordan Steele-John, and Max Chandler-Mather all have huge followings on the app and regularly use it to connect with followers.

The reach of just one of their posts on the app exceeds the reach of most liberal accounts combined.

It is clear that many offices will now turn to Instagram to connect with the same demographic, although the algorithm is less friendly.

By using TikTok, there is a wider reach to reach voters who may not have knowledge or interest in politics through the app’s “for you page.”

While Instagram has a similar feature and seems to reward creators who use the “reels” feature, the app itself relies more on a user already following an account to engage with their content.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus confirmed the ban on Tuesday, noting it would take effect “as soon as possible.”

“After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, I today authorized the Secretary of the Attorney General to issue a mandatory instruction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to ban the TikTok app on devices issued by Commonwealth departments and agencies,” he said in a statement.

Australia is the latest of the Five Eyes partners to ban the app from such devices, after the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand banned the social media platform from official devices in recent months.

Opposition spokesman for cybersecurity James Paterson, who is currently in the US for talks with US congressmen and security officials, said those he had spoken to were “astonished” why Australia was “so out of step and so far behind”. . ‘.

“But it’s very, very late, we’ve been talking about this for almost a year,” he told Sky News.

It’s been 10 months since TikTok admitted to me that Australians’ user data is accessible and accessible in China under their national security laws.

“Our closest allies and friends have been performing for months — it’s been over 90 days since the US banned it.”

He said Australia should be ready to have a conversation about the ban going beyond government appliances and for personal use.

All options must be on the table. This is not only a data security risk for all those users and young people, but it is also a risk of foreign interference,” he said.

“The reality is that many young people get their news… through applications like TikTok. And it would be… easy for the Chinese Communist Party to order Byte Dance and TikTok to suppress stories that run counter to their interests, to promote stories that support their interests, or simply to create divisions and promote social cohesion and national undermining unity.

“We cannot allow an authoritarian state to have unregulated access to the devices of millions of Australians in this strategic environment.”

Lee Hunter, managing director of TikTok Australia and New Zealand, said the team is “extremely disappointed by this decision, which we believe is driven by politics, not facts.”

“We are also disappointed that TikTok, and the millions of Australians who use it, have been made aware of this decision through the media, despite our repeated offers to engage constructively with the government about this policy.

“There is no evidence that TikTok poses a security risk to Australians in any way and we should not be treated any differently than other social media platforms. Our millions of Australian users deserve a government that makes decisions based on facts and treats all businesses fairly, regardless of their country of origin.”

A widespread ban on private use of the app – currently under consideration in the US – would not be considered here.